There have been times I almost got a persecution complex. I felt like people wouldn't let me grow up. They always saw me as a smiling kid or goofy teenager, no matter how much I'd changed.

I have a real eclectic taste for work, for movies, for characters and jobs.

I have a career I am proud of as a child actor. I'm not running away from it or embarassed with anything I did.

I asked Michael Jackson once. I said to him, 'How were you able to go from the Jackson Five to the biggest star in the world? What was your secret, Michael?' He said, 'Ricky, stay inspired. That's the hardest thing to do. If you can figure out a way to stay inspired, you can make it.'

It's difficult being a child actor. I don't think everything beautiful has to be exploited. Some things can be beautiful and left beautiful.

I worked with creative people who were very demanding of me, and they helped me reach performances that I never could have gotten on my own without being pushed and having trust in them. And so I know the best way to get the best performance of an actor, and that's not to coddle them or to baby them. It's to help them; it's to push them.

'Silver Spoons' was great memories - absolutely the best.