I went to school in Massachusetts at Hampshire College.
I'm not that interested in working with impervious people.
I find that the most interestingly written parts happen to be the bad guys.
During 'Manchurian Candidate' - that role originated with Laurence Harvey, and I studied everything he did. I would never be able to reproduce that performance, but I got a lot of ideas from watching it.
Entitlement is lethal.
There's nothing more exciting than that conversation you have with a live audience. It's the best feeling in the world.
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?'
My grandfather was raising me, and in many respects, I was trying to understand what it meant to be a man. He was my role model.
I'm misrepresented as a scary person. I'm not. It's all about my size and my eyebrows.
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.
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.
As soon as you know what you're doing, you're doing it wrong. That's what I find with acting. As soon as it becomes padded, it becomes pat.
The worst bar fights I ever saw were in London. I saw a guy break a pint glass in another guy's face in a club in the Eighties. It was a gay club, too.
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.
My publicist told me not to talk about politics but, yes, I think we have a president who stole the election.
Some actors need to be rattled and some need to be focused.
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.
Everyone says villains are thankless parts, but those are really the best roles.
