Sometimes you feel you're making something really special and when it comes out you might still feel that way but for some reason it doesn't get the audience. So many things have to come together to get a creatively successful and financially successful film.

Pretend was a big part of my childhood.

I like to think of myself as a character actor, though there's some redundancy in that...

Sometimes you'll have a movie that you're very proud of and you think it transcended all of your expectations but it doesn't come out at the right time. I have done movies that have never been released. That can be depressing.

Do I have a long-term plan? Kind of. I have a general direction, I think. But it's funny what comes down the pike.

One thing I want to do is create something called Ring Around Congress. It would be a state deal and also a national thing, where the kids, as a field trip, will go and join hands around Congress and give the politicians report cards on how they're voting on hunger issues.

I remember when I was a kid, with the acting thing, I resented it because, you know, you don't want to do what your parents want you to do.