My father was an ex-Marine Goldwater Republican.

I had the wonderful good luck of having Jimmy Gandolfini as my mentor and David Chase as my godfather, two of the most talented guys in the history of television.

When I was younger, I went through the windshield of a car ,and my hair didn't grow back right. I had been wearing scarves occasionally, and I decided that I didn't want to deal with wigs and things, so I just stumbled onto my thing.

I did 10 years on 'Sopranos,' but the whole craft of acting is relatively new to me. I'm still learning that, and I'll be learning that forever.

In 'The Sopranos,' these guys know their best years are behind them. They have nostalgia for their old traditions. In their minds, they're looking for a time when loyalty mattered, community mattered. E Street is about community, too. People are looking for something real.

Before Dylan, before rock became art, it was a wonderful fusion of pop structure and personal statements.

I didn't care about anything expect rock & roll. So it's nice that it turned out to be something that you find a way to make a living from.

You want everybody to like your work, but when you look at what's fashionable or trendy, it's pretty obvious that I don't exactly fit.

Whatever I'm doing, I try and keep the quality very high.

I don't wake up every day and just write to write. I only write with purpose.