I would go into a place that was quiet and isolated and think about how my character would feel in the situation, considering who he was and what he had been through. I would think about that even up to 30 minutes. And when I felt the character was in my body and I had left, I could walk onto set or into rehearsal.

We were bemused, I guess, when we got the call from Hollywood. We didn't know anything about the entertainment industry or even what a casting agency was. But I thought, 'What do I have to lose?' It's not every day a great opportunity presents itself.

People have recognized me sometimes but not much. I'm glad my life isn't too different. I don't want it to be.

Mature? Yeah, I get told that a lot. I don't know if it's true. I guess I try to be bright.

It is an incredible treat and certainly one of the highlights of any astronaut's career to do a spacewalk.

I never had the high-paying job or the company car. It took me over a decade to pay off my student loans. I never had to worry about where to dock my yacht to reduce my taxes.

I had a 20-year, stellar government career.

The biggest honor of my career was when I won R&B Artist of the Year back in the 1970s. I look at that as a major honor.