I think we all have a lot of darkness in our bellies. As an actor, the challenge of tapping into that, reaching down into that sadness or anger, is very therapeutic.

I felt as if I was the brunt of some massive joke at my expense: Can you believe this loser can be connected to Marlon Brando and Katharine Hepburn? But through the years I have learned to tolerate and sometimes embrace the idea. People have asked me if I consider it an honour. Well, all it indicates is that I've been in a lot of movies with a lot of people. And besides that there are plenty of other actors that would work.

As I was coming up on the stage, there was one source that could make or break you, the New York Times. Inevitably there would be one actor singled out for a better review, or worse, than somebody else. The effect of that was cancerous, divisive.

My dad was an architect, and he wasn't a rich guy, but in our little world in Philadelphia he was famous. He loved to see his picture in the paper. I wanted to be more famous than him.

The hardest gig there is in entertainment is to be the lead in an hour show, especially if it's a show that's blood and guts and fighting. It's rough. I love to work, but to do something different is really exciting.

I'm always happier and a better actor when I can really lose myself in a character and become somebody else.

It's easy to get laid when you're rich and famous. When you're broke and unknown, it takes skill.