I've met big-name actors doing Hollywood films, and they've said that all they want is an in at HBO and their own show.
It has given me an insight into what it's like as an actor to come into a show in the middle of a production and fit into a group that's already established.
Those offers come in now and again. They're not knocking down my door. I'm only an old character actor, and I'm not needed.
I've got actor friends who didn't get breaks, who struggle and worry about things that I'm fortunate not to have to worry about.
Any actor wants to do interesting roles, different roles. It's not all that much fun to do the same thing over and over again.
One of the strangest things about being an actor is that people you don't know feel that they are allowed to comment on your hair, body, clothes, relationships.
You want to be on your toes; You don't want to be in a Nic Cage movie and just have him blow by you as an actor.
It's fun to be an actor and dress up, but I'm happy being me and just loving accepting my personal style.
I'm only an actor. I'm not a writer. I'm not going to leave any legacy. All I've ever done is learn the lines and say them.
I don't know how to do anything else other than be an actor. If I wasn't in this, I would be in alternative energy and conservation.
I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans.
When I first did a U.S. pilot season, there were very few British actors schlepping around town trying to get into television. That was 1999.
British actors used to be scared of the multi-year options that U.S. TV shows demand. That has changed, because the same is now happening in the U.K.
You know, it's recently come into focus for me why I want to be an actor: It's because of the connection I feel to people.
It'd be nice if Asian actors could be perceived as profitable, which is the bottom line. We're perceived as not mattering much fiscally.
I am not one of those actors who believes he has to live the part he is playing. I can turn it on and off.
There's nothing better than an actor who is really, really hungry to show everything they've got.
I'm really not interested in showing me or playing me. My gift as an actor, given to me, is to be able to become other people.
I don't know why British actors are getting big parts in American TV shows. Maybe it's because we're cheap.
If actors could actually make a living doing theater, that would be my first choice. Sitcoms are the closest thing to being onstage in front of an audience.
It's more enjoyable when I'm disguised in some way; stepping into someone else's shoes is part of the reason why I became an actor.
