Whenever I work on a part, I look at the world through the filter of the character and I pick things they might use through my observations of real life.

I do my best to hold the director's opinion above my own.

I don't really think in career terms.

It's funny. You succeed, but now where are you gonna go from there? I've got to keep proving that I can laugh or cry more real each time.

Basically, one of the hardest things about being an actor is getting your first break. I'm a product of nepotism. The doors were open to me. I'd done several movies before I decided what I wanted to do.

One of my favorite artists is Tom Waits, whom most people think of as a wonderful singer-songwriter and a great poet. I certainly think of him that way, but I also know him as a terrific actor. You know, that persona that he puts on when he's doing his music comes from being an actor, figuring out a persona.

Poverty is a very complicated issue, but feeding a child isn't.