I was offered jobs impersonating everyone from Cher to Madonna.

Some actors start with the right shoes. I start with the right hats.

I should be one of those actors who has a list. A lot of people do - 'I wanna do this and this and this' - but I don't. I enjoy being surprised - indeed, often ambushed - by a role.

There was a lot of playing by myself, wearing last year's Halloween costume and wandering around the yard talking to myself - which may account for my fondness for doing different voices.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of family encouragement - not just for me, but for everyone.

I think there's lots of people with family connections but who are actually nowhere. If you're hard-working and determined, you will make it, and that's the bottom line. I don't believe in an easy way through.

I was born in Washington, D.C., where my father was working for the Federal Trade Commission, and my mom was editor for the National Council of Catholic Women, but my parents were simply awaiting my birth before moving back to their roots in Rhode Island to raise their family.

Respectable means rich, and decent means poor. I should die if I heard my family called decent.