During 'Chicago Hope,' I never let directors talk to me, because I was so spoiled. I started off with people like Milos Forman, Sidney Lumet, James Lapine, unbelievably gifted people. So there I was saying, 'Don't talk to me, I don't want your opinion.' I behaved abominably.

People on both sides of any conflict believe they are right, whether it's on a TV show or in the real world.

I'm an obsessive person. I like intensity.

Singing in Yiddish was a great thrill for me and came about through Joe Papp, the founder of The Public Theater.

Everyone's entitled to their own experience.

Arthur Miller said one of my favorite lines ever, that he had the mother say to her two sons about a very unstable father in Death of a Salesman. She said, "Attention must be paid." It's one of the most resonant lines that I think he ever wrote, and I think attention must be paid to the truth.

You rarely pay the rent by doing Shakespeare or Ibsen.