I got a part as a chorus girl in a show called Every Sailor and I had fun doing it. Mother didn't really approve of it, through.

There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you relax, the audience relaxes. And always mean everything you say.

Outside of my family, the prime concern of my life has been nature and its order, and how we have been savagely altering that order.

Learn your lines… plant your feet… look the other actor in the eye… say the words… mean them.

My childhood was surrounded by trouble, illness, and my dad's alcoholism, but as I said, we just didn't have the time to be impressed by all those misfortunes. I have an idea that the Irish possess a built-in don't-give-a-damn that helps them through all the stress.

I got a part as a chorus girl in a show called Every Sailor and I had fun doing it. Mother didn't really approve of it, through.

Once a song and dance man, always a song and dance man. Those few words tell as much about me professionally as there is to tell.