Shirley MacLaine once said that she didn't want to be a big star, just a long star. That's what I want too.

Hollywood is a very interesting place to deal with. And having been a theatre person, I was quite surprised by the slipperiness of some people in Holly-weird. There was a part of me that just said, 'If this is the way the game is played, I'm not sure I want to play it.

I reckon I probably worked for Euripides a long time ago. I do think we have many Earth walks and it's possible that he's an old friend. Does that sound too stupid for words? Quite frankly I think I've been an actor in so many lifetimes.

Hollywood can be brutal, inhuman, the opposite of what the theatre is, and I had little desire to be part of it.

People call me and ask me for advice all the time. On an elevator they tell me their problems. I think it's in part because I'm Italian so I'm emotionally available and I have a friendly persona.

When you decide you're going to join a project, it's all about the gift you're giving the audience.

Growing up I was a total movie-holic, but I always wanted to play the role that Clark Gable was playing or Spencer Tracy was playing. I was really never interested in the parts that women were playing. I found the parts that guys were playing were so much more interesting.