I manage to hide in my movies.
When my grandpa was moved to physical action, you felt utter terror.
And you know, I hate to admit this, but I don't always think in terms of Shakespeare. When I eat, I do. When I'm at a restaurant, I'll think, 'Hmm, what would Macbeth have ordered?'
I have the kind of face that people want to punch.
The premise for me has always been that it's vulnerable people who do violent things. And the more vulnerable they feel, often, the more violent they are. But I think, you know, that's an idea that comes from history, from classical theater, for me.
I'm terrible with big parties.
My style was always intuitive. I never used to believe in working on your body. Anything that smacked of vanity to me was bad for your acting, but I learned that wasn't true.
And I think for me there's a lot of neurosis involved with where you should be or thinking about where you are all the time instead of being where you are.
There's nothing more exciting than that conversation you have with a live audience. It's the best feeling in the world.
Part of what I enjoy about the theatre and acting is that sense of history.
If you fall in love with somebody you're working with, fine, but wait till your project is over.
You hear different things from different people, and they're all valid: they're all valuable. I think that's what comprises a performance is all those ideas.
Hamlet is a remarkably easy role. Physically it's hard because it tends to be about three hours long and you're talking the whole time. But it's a simple role and it adapts itself very well, because the thing about Hamlet is, we all are Hamlet.
I did some research into what was going on in terms of the sexual revolution that was happening in the '60s in the gay community and particularly in the drag world. Before the '60s, guys doing drag would dress like their mothers or iconic Hollywood actresses.
I love my mother and father. The older I get, the more I value everything that they gave me.
I was always drawn to tough girls. I liked that domineering thing.
The funny thing is that I write and I act a lot about being Jewish, but I don't really think about it as a regular person.
I'm drawn to people who share that sense of loss. All actors are trying to repair damaged relationships. I think that might be why I've been drawn to other actors.
A lot of times in Hollywood you're as good as your last job.
My publicist told me not to talk about politics but, yes, I think we have a president who stole the election.
I think, the first time I played Iago at the Public Theater, I realized I had a - much to my chagrin - I realized I had an instinct for these conflicted characters, for these torn characters, for these characters who could be described as evil. I wouldn't describe them that way.
I love having that creative discussion where, at the end of the day, you both feel better for having done it. Maybe it's a typically Jewish thing, where you sort of go at each other.
You know, I have a deep, deep affinity for Dr. Seuss.
I've got nothing against L.A. I think it is a really beautiful place. To be able to surf and get out in the Pacific Ocean every once in a while. The hiking, all of that is amazing. I love it there.
Theater is consistent. You ride your bike to work. You get most of the day off so you can see your kids. My problem is that after three months, I go mad. One of the reasons I never thought I could do a TV show is that I hate doing the same thing over and over again.
Don't hit people; don't let it get you too angry; remember that everything you do can and will be used against you. And take a breath and have some perspective.
I'm actually a very bad surfer, which is good because everybody likes a bad surfer. Nobody likes a good surfer.
It's good to overexpose yourself with work. But don't expose yourself too much with the press.
Style, no matter how outrageous it is, is still an expression of someone's personality. And my personality is somewhere stuck in the classics.
I'm not that interested in working with impervious people.
Where else do you find great directors? Acting is one of the places.
I've never been a heavy practitioner of the method or, at least, with any specific intent; I'm kind of an impulse-based person. Like, I'm sort of waiting for something to happen that I'm not expecting, and I kind of want to jump on that train of emotion, whatever it is, both from myself or from the other actor.
I really don't think there is anybody in the business with better eyes than Elijah Wood.
The interesting thing about doing serial television is that the character is growing separate from you, the character and the show are growing, and you get to observe that and participate with it in a way that I think is actually really exciting for an actor.
That's really how I got started was doing Shakespeare. When I got out of school, I was lucky enough to meet George Wolfe, who ran The Public Theater.
You watch a hockey game, and the hand-eye coordination and the speed is really miraculous; how those guys track the puck alone, just following it with their eyes.
I remember finding 'Harold and Maude' strangely erotic. I've always had an octogenarian fetish.
I'm a typically lazy person. It is sort of characteristic of actors.
I get very nervous around famous people and I get nervous around beautiful women.
I'm someone who started in the theater and really couldn't stand repeating the show. My favorite part of acting is the five or six weeks of rehearsal that you get. I like doing previews; I like the opening week because my friends and family come, and then after that, I don't want to do it anymore.
I have Slavic fat pads that make me look like a chipmunk and arched predatory eyebrows. With that, you're not going to get funny. That's why I play so many bad guys.
I am very good with dialects, but the two that I can't do for some reason are the South African and Australian.
There's the private persona and the public persona and the two shall never meet.
We have to remember to respect the faith of people and maybe not the organizations or the groups that manifest around it.
I think conflicted characters are always more interesting.
I really never thought I was that good at film. And honestly still don't. My strength is language. My background is monologues and a certain kind of Brechtian spin on theater.
When you're in a place like New York or D.C. you just can't beat it, and it's so hard to recreate because they are both such distinctive places.
Entitlement is lethal.
Well, I don't think I've ever been a huge target for the press, and I value that to a degree, because there's a certain value for actors staying beneath the radar so they can play characters.
