It Really Hit Home That My Parents

I Aspired To Be Extremely Sophisticated.

For Me To Want To Be An Actor Was An Improbable Idea. I Wasn't Beautiful Or Pretty In Any Conventional Way. I Wasn't An Ingenue At 22. But I Was Always Certain Of It And Certain Of Its Power. I Felt The Power When I Went To The Theater At 9, 10, 12 And 14.

I Was A Very Determined Kid. I Couldn't Imagine Any Other Life For Myself. This Happens To Kids Who Are Different In Any Way. How Am I Going To Make A Life? Who Am I Going To Be When I Grow Up? Will There Be A Place For Me In The World? Acting Gave Me A Sense Of Purpose, But It Also Gave Me A Sense That I Would Survive, That I Would Find My Place.

I Was Always Trying To Make Up For My Size, To Compensate. So To Get People To Take You Seriously, You Have To Come At Things With A Great Deal Of Strength. You Have To Emphasize That The Way You Are Is Unusual. That You Don't Come Along Every Day.

When I Was 16, Nobody Else Talked Like Me. Nobody Else Sounded Like Me.