I got fired when I was a dishwasher at Denny's. That set me back a little bit. You don't realize how important dishwashers are until you do the job.

The first thing I thought [when I read the script] was that Frasier was an intellectual at some points but also an Everyman - flawed and very insecure.

The greatest sin is judgment without knowledge.

I was brought up to never lie. Sure, I have. But in the final mix, the lies I've told are far outweighed by the truths I've lived.

Alexander Pope once wrote that the theater aspires to wake the soul by gentle strokes of art - to raise the genius and to mend the heart.

My own take on it is that government will never adequately represent every person in the country. It can't. It's not possible. It's a multicultural, multifaceted society in which we live. The country, I think, thrives because it's willing to embrace many ideas at the same time, but once a decision is made you will be unpopular with many people. The business of our political leaders is to go ahead and make a decision and let the chips fall where they may. That's a very hard thing to do.

It takes a very strange person to enjoy fame, with all the by-products that come with it. It's not necessarily a thrill.