We have reached a very cynical era of comedy. The Muppets have proven, for 40 years, that you can get laughs without ever doing it at someone else's expense, and I think that that's a really important thing for kids to realize.

For some reason, I was born without a sense of embarrassment or shame.

Kermit was the Everyman, the original Tom Hanks, but I have a special place in my heart for Fozzie Bear. The classic borderline hacky entertainer.

A man can certainly be a Muppet. Being a Muppet is a state of mind. It's about finding that little part of you that's unique, and not being embarrassed by it, but cherishing it.

The narrative of our lives is a total construct. We get to choose what that is. That is something I've realized as I've gotten older. I have a lot of choices about the story that I'm telling myself about my life. So where do I find meaning?

When you're a kid, Kermit is Tom Hanks. He's Tom Hanks for kids or Jimmy Stewart for kids. He's truly the every man.

I'm better looking in person.