I wrote poetry, which got me into lyrics. Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John pulled me into pop. I started singing with a band - just for fun - when I was 17. And pretty soon, I was thinking I could sing pop in English as well as Spanish.
I didn't get at first put into a rehab facility; I got put in a adolescent psychiatric unit for my detox.
Starting in '98 when I was researching 'Traffic,' I got to meet really serious people in Washington, which for a screenwriter was kind of a great gift. And I really valued these guys; I stayed in touch with them, and I find their point-of-view quite interesting.
Working on 'Gossip Girl' was a fantastic experience. It was my first real gig and I'm thankful for it - I got to learn a lot. I'm glad I got to explore getting comfortable in my own shoes in the background on a show like 'Gossip Girl.'
The women in 'Downton Abbey' don't compare to the women in 'Upstairs Downstairs.' Ours are stunning. We've got Laura Haddock, Keeley Hawes, Claire Foy... beautiful women.
My biological dad was Armenian. My last name is Lopez, and I have a darker complexion, which throws people for a loop. My mother's first husband is Mexican. That's where I got Lopez.
Why should a horror film be just a horror film? To me, The Company of Wolves is a fairy tale; it's got all those elements plus a lot more. And we know that fairy tales aren't innocent any more.
That's the best way to feed the human mind. That's how Bob Marley did it. He never put it in your face. After you got the groove, you were just singing the hooks, because you thought it was cool.
I should write a musical. That is probably one of the final areas that I should pay attention to, because it does kind of involve everything. It's got theatre, it's got young, pretty people... And it's got money!
I fought back, got injured again and I had to have another operation. I got down and depressed and I think I was drinking more than I should. Well, I know I was.
I grew up just outside New York City in a very white town. In seventh grade, I got called Macy Gray. It really affected me, so I got a weave and wore my hair straight.
People got insights into what was bothering them, but they hardly did a damn thing to change.
I got to train with some of the best and have critics like Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein. As a student under Calvin Klein, my project was to make a coat, and then years later, I was hired at Calvin, by Calvin, to design coats for him. It came full circle!
I just spent 11 and a half months in a maximum-security jail, got shot five times, and was wrongly convicted of a crime I didn't commit.
I never got into politics for it to be a career.
I did my undergrad at Florida State, got a Bachelor's, and then I got my Masters in Acting at NYU. So I've spent a lot of time in the classroom.
You've got to keep an open mind.
I usually tell people upfront what to expect, and that I really want their feedback and their ideas, and if they think I've got a hair out of place or food stuck in my teeth, gosh, I want to know that.
There wasn't a moment where I got into cars. It wasn't a conscience decision or something that came later, it was there since I was born. I just love it.
One thing I've always been taught at the defensive end is you hit first. In life, you throw the first punch; you don't get punched first. It's the same on defense: You've got to hit first. Do your work early. That's what I was always taught. If you don't do your work early, you're done.
Those movies sure got me into a rut.
Nothing's sacred anymore. Those girls and I got so close. They were painting me naked every day for months. It was kind of like going to a really bizarre sleepover. It's what you guys imagine we do: One naked girl and seven pairs of hands all over her.
When my father returned home on the twenty-first of August 1983, he had a speech prepared. Filipinos never got to hear it, because he was murdered right on the tarmac.
Nowadays the rage for possession has got to such a pitch that there is nothing in the realm of nature, whether sacred or profane, out of which profit cannot be squeezed.
When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could succeed. Then after I got a little under my belt, it took me about 25 years to feel like I knew what I was doing.
More time than not, athletes, specifically fighters, have a 15 or 20-year career, and unfortunately, we end up right where we started when it's over. All we have is maybe a round of applause when we walk in a room - Hey, there's the champ! That's great; I want that, but I've got to have something tangible to show for it, too.
I've got two little dogs, a little Chihuahua-Pomeranian I've had for about eight years - his name is Oliver - and a miniature German Schnauzer I've had for about seven years. They're like little brothers.
From time to time I might push a little bit too hard and I have got to be a bit more careful.
I had a lot of success from the start. I never really was tested for long periods of time. I got my first professional job while I was a senior in college. I signed with the William Morris Agency before I graduated.
You've got to try to guard, make an effort to defend to the best of your ability. You have to rebound the ball, which was an area that was so critical. And they wanted you to play smart and have fun. I've kind of tried to let our people understand those are the most important things that I could possibly tell them.
If you ain't Texan, I ain't got time for you.
Me and my son got pictures on the Batmobile. I'm a big kid.
I started singing about three years ago, I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn't taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place.
I've always thought that the balance between the side of my mind that knows what it is doing and the side that really hasn't got a clue has to be carefully maintained because if you write too knowingly then you get chilly, and if you write too unknowingly you write bollocks that nobody else can understand.
I think you've got to talk to the director, see the director's films and recognise that it's important that the work fits right in and see if as part of the movie.
The minute you think you've got it made, disaster is just around the corner.
