America is a country that has been skating for ages on its unparalleled ability to look marvelous on the outside.
I had a different upbringing - my dad worked three jobs. You know, it wasn't as easy as they had it.
I had always been affected by films, as well, of course - and great films.
I had a little bit of a vocal strain at a certain period of time that made me lay off the singing, and while I was lying off the singing, I was pursuing the acting.
Concurrently, while I was in school, while I was winning awards for acting, I was winning awards for singing, in high school. One of the reasons why I decided to continue on with the acting was the opera world is fraught with a very long process, and I did love the acting, as well. The acting took off sooner, and then you get involved with that.
[Frank] Sinatra, to everyone, even Tony Bennett, was such a huge influence because he had mastered not only music, but film and radio.
There was something in the bel canto, not just opera, but a certain style of Italian singing that I responded to deeply.
When the economic orthodoxy can no longer deliver, political turbulence follows. That doesn't mean the left will win, but it means there is an opportunity to be seized.
Google is one of the most incredible breakthroughs that we have today. Yes, it can scare a lot of patients, thinking we're all dying because we look up something on Google. But there's also a lot of anecdotal information from parents, firsthand accounts of what they did for their own child.
When you are shooting a movie, you have to collaborate with many, many, many people. First of all, the director with all his own ideas and I can only just help him with that. I cannot change his idea.
I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window.