There’s something about being naïve. Really interesting things come because you don’t know what the rules are, what you can and can’t do.
Bob Altman had this relaxed but serious attitude. Everybody loved him. I wanted him to adopt me.
There’s a certain type of character that you can’t help but come in contact with growing up and living in Brooklyn and Long Island. A certain mixture of moxie, heart, and a wise guy sense of humor.
I read the script and decide if a particular character looks fun to play. I look for complexity and a sense of humor. Those are crucial, real things to life.
I just like playing interesting, complex, complicated characters. I like films that also have an element of humor.
Communication is the key, and it’s one thing I had to learn-to talk to the actors. I was so involved with the visual and technical aspects that I would forget about the actors.
What was frustrating about Armageddon was the time I spent not doing anything. It was a big special effects film, and I wasn’t crazy about pretending I was in outer space. It feels ridiculous.
When I moved to the East Village in the late seventies, I wanted to be a street performer, so I practiced daily. I never did work up the skills or the courage to perform on the street, though.
The thrill of performing – that’s something that hasn’t changed for me. That simultaneous joy of creating something and sharing it with an audience – it’s the same now as it was then, when it was just my cousins’ birthday party.
I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like they don’t fit into society, because I still sort of feel that way.