The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character I may be portraying because they are essentials for presenting truth.

As they used to say 'What if they gave a war and nobody came?' How worthwhile if they declared a day of peace and everybody came.

I regard myself as a beautiful musical instrument, and my role is to contribute that instrument to scripts worthy of it.

There are genuinely sufficient resources in the world to ensure that no one, nowhere, at no time, should go hungry.

The free access to information is not a privilege, but a necessity for any free society. One of my favorite things to do as a young man was wander through the stacks of my hometown library. I'd just browse until I found something interesting. Libraries have definitely changed my life.

I am not a method actor, though I studied for a year with Lee Strasburg.

My first job was with an auto plant, Kansas City - they treated you like slaves. From there I went back to Chicago, worked in steel mills, drove a cab, stuff like that.