My mom convinced me to audition for 'The X Factor.' And I just said, 'O.K., let me see what it's about. $5 million? Might as well try.' I tried out, and it worked out. I got through top seven out of 200,000, so I'm proud.
This 'Whoa, Nellie!' thing is overrated. There were all kinds of stories going around. People said I had a mule in Georgia named Nellie. Well, we had a mule in Georgia, but her name was Pearl.
I saw this cool interview with Amy Adams from when she did 'Enchanted' and played a princess, and when kids came up to her with no make-up and ripped jeans on, she said, 'I'm off duty. I'm an off-duty princess', and I thought that was quite sweet.
I think it's easy for me to connect to some people, and I don't know if that's the same thing as falling in love whereas before, I might have said it was.
Why can't we have a concert with food? Your typical cooking demonstration, there's just no enthusiasm. There's no energy behind it. I said, 'What if we take a cooking demonstration and fortify it with a lot of good music? ... Drive it to the next level?'
Whenever I sang, I said to myself, 'Maybe tonight.' I would never let down, no matter how few people were listening.
I think I said something mean when I was little, and my mother snapped on me. I was just like, 'I'm sorry!' I could relate. If I had cursed out my dad, I probably would be just waking up.
Every election matters. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't understand politics. That said, not every election sends sweeping messages that are easy to discern, but every election provides lessons worth learning.
You're in front of an audience and thinking off the top of your head - you're going to say things that offend people sometimes. Sometimes I'll be driving home, and I'll be like, 'Oh, crap, I shouldn't have said that.'
Throughout my career, even as a very young actor, people have always said to me that they would like to see my Othello. They could see something of him in me, I suppose.
Many of us believe that we need health care reform. That being said - Americans felt like they weren't being listened to. There were a lot of people across the political spectrum who said we don't want a one-size-fits-all healthcare plan.
Part of me wants a bunch of jocks to go to Comic-Con and call them all dweebs so they can be like, 'Pump the brakes a little bit.' But that said, it's all positive. It's just, of course, I'm going to find some cynicism in it.
Love, in the eyes of the world, is either a carnal appetite or a vague fancy, which possession extinguishes or absence destroys. That is why it is commonly said, with a strange abuse of words, that passion does not endure.
You can be a follower of Muhammad or Jesus or Buddha or whomever. Always, they said that the most essential factor is to love your neighbor. And to love you.
'Piaf' I did it because I wanted to do more theater instead of only musicals, and someone gave me the book and said to me, 'You have to do it.'
I went swimming the other day and my wife was watching and she said, 'You know, it's funny, it's when you've got no clothes on, no one recognizes you.' I said, 'What are you saying? That I should do more love scenes?'
I remember a period where my publisher said to me, 'Look, your historical work is selling much better than your contemporary work, so please give us more historicals.'
I've always had a more classic approach to style as opposed to uber-trendy. Having said that, I do like to have a bit of an edge, and I tend to be more daring when it comes to accessories - in particular, shoes and bags.
Once, I was going to a film event, and someone told me not to wear high heels to it. They said that it might intimidate the men. For some reason, I was ready to take their cue, but about an hour later, something in my head started ringing, and I thought, 'That is the worst advice anybody's ever given me.'
I could remember thinking when I met him, 'Wow, that's Andy Sanders from Houston. He's really good.' And he tells me he said, 'Wow, that's Jimmy Walker. He hits it really far.'
But it will be said that the husband provides for the wife, or in other words, he feeds, clothes and shelters her! I wish I had the power to make every one before me fully realize the degradation contained in that idea.
At a very young age, I was in Germany watching TV and I told my mom I wanted to be an actor. She said, 'Go for it.' When my dad retired from the military, we moved to Los Angeles, and it all kicked off.
I was almost 8 years old when I was watching a kid on a TV commercial, and I told my mom that I wanted to do the same thing. She said that I would need to get an agent and that she would research it.
I'm proud that LearnVest is creating content that helps expectant moms tackle their finances. As much as possible, we hope to lessen the stress during what is said to be such a life-changing time.
The first acting I ever did was an Italian commercial. Once I did that, I said, 'this acting thing is awesome.'
I went to school for clothing and textiles and thought this is what I was going to do. Then I started working in costumes and literally said, 'I don't know if I can take the actors.'
I like the story about Henry David Thoreau, who, when he was on his death bed, his family sent for a minister. The minister said, 'Henry, have you made your peace with God?' Thoreau said, 'I didn't know we'd quarreled.'
I grew up on particular movies that said something to me as a kid from Missouri, movies that showed me places I'd yet traveled, or different cultures, or explained something, or said something in a better way than I could ever say. I wanted to find the movies like that. It was less about a career than finding the films I wanted to see.
As an Egyptian, I was always frustrated, just like many young Egyptians, of the situation in the country. And to a large extent, we didn't know what could we do. And looking at Khaled's photo after his death; basically I just felt that we are all Khaled Said.
I was really blessed with parents who never said I couldn't do anything. And now I reflect as an adult on that, 'Wow, they never told me no!'
I'm not a rich man, and Greg Lake is certainly not. I don't know how he can survive. I don't know how he can be that suicidal. But having said that, I'd love to be there to help Greg.
What can't be said can be written. Because writing is a silent act, a labor from the head to the hand.
One girl said when I won my gold that was what inspired her to do boxing. She was only 12, and that is the same age I was when I first started.
Two months after I got out of test pilot school, I saw an advert that said NASA was recruiting more astronauts. The best job you could have as a test pilot was being an astronaut, so I volunteered.
But I've lost parts because of my looks. I auditioned to star with Richard Dreyfuss in 'The Buddy System.' The producers said no one would believe he would leave me for another woman. They just couldn't see me with him.
Someone once said about me that I talk to everyone the same, no matter what age they are. I don't see kids and adults. I see everyone the same.
