I tried for a while to be an agricultural worker and was hopelessly bored. To me it was meaningless. I would stand around in heaps of manure and sings about the beauty of the work I wasn't doing.

I have always striven to raise the voice of hope for a world where hate gives way to respect and oppression to liberation.

I am determined to give the Yiddish language a fighting chance to survive.

An actor is supposed to emulate life. Instead, alas, many are imitating other actors. You don't fashion your knowledge of theatre or your approach to a role on the basis of what other actors have done. This kind of thinking is a great danger, especially in dealing with TV producers who frequently say things like, 'This is a Sean Connery type.'

You don't really need modernity in order to exist totally and fully. You need a mixture of modernity and tradition.

When something is moving you get that intake of breath and that stillness from the audience.

I remain convinced that I can be a true universalist only when I am a better Jew.