I know that telling the story, there are certain events I want to skip, and certain events I want to hit. The time passing allows for - if you're really following people's lives, and this isn't a cartoon - someone gets pregnant, a child will be born, etc. You really don't want to be locked into "Every episode is a month later." The show is very intense to make. There's always going to be some downtime between seasons, and to me, it really helps to come back to the next season in the reality of that world, and have almost as much time passed in their lives as has passed in yours.

If you've ever had somebody try to sell you something - people who can sell, they really are not manipulating you. They are selling themselves.

Identity is part of drama to me. Who am I, why am I behaving this way, and am I aware of it?

I was never really that worried about being a member of the Sopranos crew. I think it looks kind of fun to not have to work, to not have to take crap from anybody. And then there's the reality check in there, which is that you do have to work, you do have to take crap from people, and you can fail, and all these other things.

I think there's a kind of elegance to it, to work within that framework where what you don't see is often more enticing.

You don't drink and smoke that much, and womanize that much, unless you really want to be punished, I think.

Super confident people with no problems and great marriages and great parenting are not good entertainment.