I'm very happy doing what I do. And if I were in the White House I would be really interested in continuing to do what I do, which is working… That's a very cold answer, I guess, but I was trying to answer in terms of ambition."

When you're in a big family you have to hustle all the time. But I think that's a good quality to instill in your children, for whatever they have to get.

People are always saying, what use are the retarded, on welfare, using up all our funds, and yet, where else is there every day a greater example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity than these people?

The Chicago Special Olympics prove a very fundamental fact, the fact that exceptional children - children with mental retardation - can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports they can realize their potential for growth.

But one day, when I was still young, I was parted from my family and left my native country. I hunted and searched for music, and destiny turned me into the object of my hunt. The circumstances of life became my 'antlers' and prevented me from returning home.

My mother desperately wanted to give her kids a wholesome environment, and we were born into a traditional Catholic family.

I was raised by a single mother who made a way for me. She used to scrub floors as a domestic worker, put a cleaning rag in her pocketbook and ride the subways in Brooklyn so I would have food on the table. But she taught me as I walked her to the subway that life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.

A lot of people say to me, 'Stay grounded; be humble.' David Schwimmer was just like, 'You need to love what you do.' And I think that's really nice. Just love your work. My family has given me great advice saying, you know, 'Don't work too hard.' And it's really nice to have someone like that - you know that they love you.