On the one hand, I'm grateful to be hired and thrilled to be paid.

Laughter can bring a new perspective.

Then in college I became obsessed with film, and wanted to be part of that.

My father knew the charming side of my mother, and my mother thought that he was attentive and pleasant and was an architect, which was a respectable profession, but I don't think that they actually got to know one another deeply.

Since I also act, sometimes I get over my resentment and commit to the pitch as an acting job.

I grew up wanting to be a writer for theatre.

On the one hand, I'm grateful to be hired and thrilled to be paid.

Since it's based on my parents, it's more emotionally close to me than some of my more surreal plays. And then I like the balance of the comic and the sad. It should play as funny, but you should care about the characters and feel sad for them.

I didn't have a teacher like Sister Mary Ignatius.

When my parents separated, I was very grateful.

My parents didn't really know one another.

I never graduated to being an atheist. I only graduated to being an agnostic.

My biggest problem with organized religion is that God has been imagined as a human being with emotions. I feel if you let go of that, then it's possible to see God as a force, to connect to him or her spiritually.

As nations we should also commit afresh to righting past wrongs. In Australia we began this recently with the first Australians - the oldest continuing culture in human history. On behalf of the Australian Parliament, this year I offered an apology to indigenous Australians for the wrongs they had suffered in the past.

It is from the progeny of this parent cell that we all take our looks; we still share genes around, and the resemblance of the enzymes of grasses to those of whales is in fact a family resemblance.

I went to the public schools myself. And they were great for me.

You never know what makes some people tick until they begin to unwind.

Whether it's writing a monologue or writing standup or writing a screenplay or writing a play, I think staying involved in the creation of your own work empowers you in a way, even if you don't ever do it. It gives you a sense of ownership and a sense of purpose, which I think as an actor is really important.

Narciso Rodriguez was my first fashion big brother. He made my wedding dress, which was wonderful.

When you're on a set it can be very tedious and slow. It's just not as big as when you see it on film.

If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.

The best thing about having four big brothers is you always have someone to do something for you.

Marines don't know how to spell the word 'defeat'.

It's funny, after a while, you get tired of having to fight someone because they don't like the way you look.

What would it take for me to eat human flesh? If that was the only way to stay alive, I would. I would eat anything.

I think there is a case for strong action and intervention when there is criminality and when the leaders are corrupt or behaving in a criminal fashion.

I love Stewart Lee's 'Comedy Vehicle' on BBC2. The guy is a genius.

The Irish Catholic side was married to the life of an actor and I found out acting could be a form of prayer.

Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.

I'm always going back to New York for Broadway workshops or reading. So I always keep my foot in the door: I'm always on the lookout for the next Broadway show.

The Rastafari identity can serve as a radical challenge to oppression because it demands that reform begin with oneself.

Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.

Everything is temporary if you give it enough time.

My dad sacrificed many things in life for me. He abandoned a very promising and lucrative career of an army officer just so that he could continue helping me with my chess and accompanying me to tournaments.

To be a lone filmmaker thousands of miles from home with nobody believing in me, that seems romantic.

I found a greater identity with my own emotions in the Armenian culture as I grew older, as well as from the beginning, although I didn't know anything about it.

Starbucks is not an advertiser; people think we are a great marketing company, but in fact we spend very little money on marketing and more money on training our people than advertising.