I was told that I was good in my dance movement classes and that I should concentrate on dance because it would enhance my ability to get acting work.

Growing up in Mississippi, I realized that it was separate and unequal and all that, but it was still a safe place.

Most of the time it's the role. Sometimes it's the story and sometimes it just the paycheck. It's the little movies that come out as stories or the fact that I have work to go out, you know what I'm saying, you can only be out so long without work, you start getting antsy.

I was raised in Mississippi, so heat and humidity is my bread and butter. It keeps me going. I can't stand cold weather.

I don't think you're going to get nominated every time you jump out of the box.

If you live a life of make-believe, your life isn't worth anything until you do something that does challenge your reality. And to me, sailing the open ocean is a real challenge, because it's life or death.

I got my first job as a card-carrying actor in New York in 1967. Before that, I was a very desperate wannabe.