Even when I was an actor in training, one criticism my teachers had was that I should think about directing instead of acting because the best actors see the material they’re working on through blinders. They can’t see anything but their role. I could never really do that.

I'm always more motivated by the pain of a funny character than by what makes him funny.

Television, in particular, doesn't look for talent; it looks for personas. You have a great persona? You can be a TV star.

Israel is near and dear to my heart

Acting is not terribly important work, and I have always felt a bit of guilt about pursuing something that is so selfish. I love doing it, but it is never something that feels like it's going to change or save the world.

But one sets of grandparents lived on Davidson Avenue in the Bronx and one lived in Manhattan and I had an aunt and uncle in Queens, so in my heart I was a New Yorker.

We made a deal that was acceptable to us. We got paid very handsomely for our final season.