Yes, I'm a homosexual and I like to shock people with glamour.

You get to a certain age, and you feel the need to reward yourself just for existing.

I've developed a bit of a fascination with John Denver. I always thought he was kind of tacky and somewhat revolting and had a kind of simplistic weirdness, but on second listen, he actually did have an incredible voice, and the blatant naiveté of his work is straight-edge, in a way.

I may not lead the most dramatic life, but in my brain it's 'War and Peace' everyday.

I was keenly aware that I didn't want to draw on too many typically doomed aspects of the fated singer. Whether it's Judy Garland or Norma Desmond, there is this tragic quality to older women that one can revel in, and you want it to be more three-dimensional than that. So it was important for the character to be strong and resilient, because there are so many victims in opera.

For me, the iPhone is harder than reading Faust.

I think the minute you mention death, people run for the hills - unless it's heavy metal. People do not like death.