Telling parents in New Jersey you want to act isn't exactly like telling them you want to be a doctor or a dentist. There are no guarantees. It's hard, but all the arts are. Can you imagine the pain of writer's block?

Actors are always identified with certain parts. To some, Marlon Brando will always be the Godfather. That's just how it is, whether the character happens to be your own personal favorite role or not. You can't ever get away from it.

Don't buy furs: that's No. 1. You can start with that. Then spay and neuter your pets. We destroy millions of them a year. Go to an animal shelter for a cat or dog. And read a book about how to care properly for your particular pet.

I never really thought it out. I just woke up one day, and I was involved in all these projects. They just seemed to involve animals.

Television is hard work. It's all hard work. Theatre is hard work. I tell you, I have bruises from changing backstage. Those quick changes are really difficult.

When I left the house to become an actress, my mother literally flung her body across the door and said, 'You're killing me!' It was a very strict household. That can be okay, but there was also no nourishment, either.

Watching movies was like going to school for me. It still is. You're always learning. Even if it's bad, you're learning what not to do.

Acting is not hiding to me; it's revealing. We give you license to feel. 'Hey, she's crying, so it's okay if I cry, too.' That's the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that's when you're dead.

Alan Alda is a dear friend, nothing like the cynical, bitter Hawkeye.

My first thought in life was wanting to be an actor. I was in ballet slippers and on pointe as soon as I could walk. I always wanted to be an actress, not a mother or housewife.