What I am is a humanist before anything - before I'm a Jew, before I'm black, before I'm a woman. And my beliefs are for the human race - they don't exclude anyone.

Should I be worried about being a slave and being returned to slavery? Because certain things happened in the Constitution that had to change.

Who amongst us doesn't want to be a hero?

I think the idea that you know who your inner self is on a daily basis, because... you know. What's good for you 25 years ago may not be good for you now. So, to keep in touch with that, I think that's the first ingredient for success. Because if you're a successful human being, everything else is gravy, I think.

You couldn't always trust the history books. They told a diluted truth, a truth by committee.

Things happen to you out of luck, and if you get to stick around it's because you're talented.

[On lightweight movies:] Fun movies. They were never meant to cure cancer, only to take away the mind.