I'm always being asked to play roles or characters that I don't really resemble.

I'm a con artist in that I'm an actor. I make people believe something is real when they know perfectly well it isn't.

The problem is that people are pulling farther apart, rather than make an effort to get back together. There have been remarkable moments that united this country. It makes everyone feel relieved. Then because of economic stress, political shifts, we get wrenched apart again. I think it's cyclical. I am an optimist by nature. There are moments, the period after 9/11, the way we responded. The election of Barack Obama. There are moments where the country felt good about being American. I'm waiting for that to happen again.

It's very interesting, I had an extremely intense experience with my dad in 2002, when he was an old man and very ill and I was taking care of him and my mother, and he was extremely depressed, virtually lost the will to live, and I realized my main job was cheering him up to save his life.

I find I have to walk a little faster in public these days, but it's very easy to remember when nobody had any idea who I was.

It's my theory that if you hear enough applause and laughter at a young enough age, you're doomed

It's a very tough time for the playwright. Broadway has become almost a musical comedy theme park with all these long-running shows.