I can only speak as an American, but most journalism here isn't doing its job any more. It's about selling stuff.

Notes are tricky in an audition, because I find, more often than not, my instinct is right.

Most of the characters I'd played were so different from me, so far from me that I had to transform.

Growing up, I never imagined I would be an actor.

It's funny, 90 percent of what I've done has been television, and I never really wanted to do it that much. I was really interested in film and theater. What's ironic is that when I started doing television, I did a bunch of amazing shows all in a row, starting with The Corner.

That's what David Caruso said to me. We were talking about the whole Emmy thing, and he said that one of the things about awards in this town is that a lot is about the drama - like the drama of the performance. And he said "Your show, The Wire, looks so real, it almost looks like a documentary. And people who aren't artists - a lot of people who vote for this stuff - don't get it."

You either get better, or you don't progress.