[The Outsiders] was very competitive, in the best possible way. Full of love, full of companionship and fellowship, pranks and practical jokes and ball-busting.

For the only time in my career, I came in and met Tony [Richardson] for the part - I did not read, I just met with him - and in the middle of the meeting, he told me that I had the part [in The Hotel New Hampshire]. There was never, "Well, thank you, and we'll have my people call your people." There was none of that kabuki that goes on now endlessly for even the smallest role.

It was sort of the first movie [The Specials ] where I really got to let my comedy freak flag fly. And everybody in it made me laugh really hard. I wish more people had seen it.

Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid?

You wouldn't want somebody in office who hasn't experienced life.

We had shot six episodes of the West Wing season when 9/11 happened. An extraordinary thing that would never happen today is Aaron going to the network and saying, "I think we need to go back and reshoot, I have something I want to do," and the network just kind of let him do it.

You can meet people who are really beautiful. Then, when you see them angry for the first time, all of a sudden they're not beautiful anymore. They didn't just step into the other room and have plastic surgery; they're still the same physically. It's just that something inside of them has changed. They're no longer attractive.