I'm not just an actor born in L.A. I was born in the Griffith Park Hospital. You can't get any more clichéd than that.

I think death is just a transition to another state of consciousness.

Performing in a live theater is absolutely unbeatable. It is something I have done my entire life and have a gift, it seems, for sharing thoughts live.

There was no one around called 'Val' when I was young, so I wanted to be John or Bill. Now I like it.

There is no normal life, there's just life. You live it.

I probably complained more when I was younger. The movie industry can be frustrating but I think sometimes I could have been more helpful, approaching a film as a partnership rather than being critical of a director's ignorance. I wasn't sensitive to the fact that it's very hard to direct.

Art is a way to get strength from something that is life-affirming. It can be quite violent and still be life-affirming.