I went to public school in L.A., so I felt like I'd been in a coma for three years. I woke up, and moved to New York.

I don't think of my life as a cliche, but I'm a cliche eccentric. Complete with a strange name - I mean, who's named Val? How many Vals do you know? I mean, really?

Mark Twain created a new type of literature and not a lot of people can say that. Not a lot of people can say they're absolutely original and completely self-made.

I love that Bob Dylan asked me to be in the first movie he wrote.

News is something that happens that matters to you, which is not most of what we watch on television.

I never had a business plan. I did, actually - I'm lying. My business plan was to get lucky, and I did; that was great. And then my second business plan was to get lucky again, and there, I faltered.

I think part of my reputation has to do with the difficult roles I've played. Actors do tend to get identified with their characters.