Growing up I didn't want to be an actor. I sort of didn't want to go into the family business; the main reason being there was something I wanted to do far more, which was be an artist.

What you aspire to on a sitcom is the feeling of live comedy.

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

Having grown up in the theater family, having done a huge amount of acting from a very little boy to precocious teenager in Shakespeare festivals that my father produced, I went off to college and fell in with the theater gang. I was already an experienced actor. I became a kind of campus star. I heard all this applause and laughter.

Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug.

I'm as flighty as anybody. You put a lot out there. I've been through the process a lot. When I play a major role, it's my instinct to create a nice atmosphere. People in the major roles dominate the tone of an entire film. To my mind, it's much easier to work creatively when everyone's friendly.

I was in 20 Shakespearean plays by the time I was 20.