As a child, I was rather active for my age. Sensing something special about me, my father told me that I had the vision to accomplish great things in life. He always encouraged me to do what I wanted to do - and this has stood me in good stead.
Music has been more a solitary, creative thing. The acting side of things and working in movies has helped me collaboratively with music in terms of helping me get ideas across to other people and making it more of a team efforts.
Acting helped me as I was growing up. It helped me learn about myself, helped me travel, helped me understand life, express myself, all those wonderful things. So I'm very, very grateful; it's a fun job. It's a luxury.
The stage sharpened my creative instrument and encouraged me to go deeper and try new things.
I think it's helped me to have two unconventional parents, who have always encouraged me to be myself.
Good Viking genes, being vegetarian and having rowdy dogs and kids definitely keep me in shape. Not eating meat gives me the energy I need to keep up with work, family and travel - I'm very active.
I feel really grateful to the people who encouraged me and helped me develop. Nobody can succeed on their own.
The time I spent on the bench helped me to reflect and think. It encouraged me to keep fighting and work.
If you enjoy learning, if you enjoy the curiosity of music and what can be done with it, and stop looking at it as something you have to do because someone says this is what you have to do to be a professional, you know, learn it because you're curious about it and then I think you'll have a much better creative sense and enable this inner voice to come out. These things are not taught and are not encouraged.
I was with my father at his end, as he was with me at my beginning. In the thirty-three years we shared together, he raised me, taught me, corrected me, comforted me, encouraged me, and supported me in all things.
My dad's helped me a lot as a player, encouraged me in all the right ways, kept me focussing on the right lines.
Fame is part of me and my life as an actor. I enjoy the creative aspects of my life as an actor. I enjoy directing and acting as well. But the bottom line for me is not prestige and power. It's about having an exciting, creative life.
When I was studying at Berklee, I got the feeling I couldn't play the [guitar] at all, because I could not use my own things as they didn't fit any set pattern. When I joined [Chico Hamilton], he helped me immensely to develop my own style. He never forced me in any set way. At all times, he encouraged me to be myself on the instrument.
My parents encouraged me to be creative by being creative and interesting people themselves, and by making it clear how highly they valued creativity in others.
The things that have happened for me, to me, have helped me grow up. Especially the passing of my father. That was something that took me to another level of growing and maturing. That's whan I started to be more of a man.
As a Jewish man who has no interest in Judaism whatsoever, there's something in me that says when bad things have happened in the past, people were supposed to get more active and speak up and prevent them. That's what's important to me is that everybody - and I don't care what side you're on. You can disagree with me, but everyone better get active. Everybody better vote and be thoughtful.