I always thought I was a fairly meek individual.
'Criminal Intent' scripts are very good. Like others involved in 'Law & Order' stuff, I've come to appreciate the lack of 'soap,' if you will. The story dominates. You don't spend a lot of time with the psychological underpinnings of the police.
Because I was writing verse, my instructor suggested I study Shakespeare. The Shakespeare teacher insisted you couldn't understand the text without seeing it on its feet.
Acting didn't come and just clip me on the nose.
I'm like a guy hanging down from a horse's belly trying to establish control. On a scale of 1 to 100, I'm at 1, and I'm trying to get to 2. The older I get, the more I enjoy control, because I've lived out of control for a long, long time.
My father was Australian.
Television allows for survival, which is the basic issue for me. You have to decide how much money is enough. You can't get carried away with the hunt for money. But there are times it shows up, and you need to grab it, and that allows you to hunt for a better script.
Next time I do a play, I want to go out of town. I don't like the idea of opening in New York. I don't have to do theatre, but if you're going to do it, you should do it well. These days, everything has to be up and running in five minutes. As a result, the rehearsal time is missing.
My father became the technical advisor for 'The Desert Fox,' with James Mason as Rommel. They wanted an Aussie who had been in North Africa with the English, and found my father on the Pasadena police force.
I have no regrets. I can't think of a regret.
I'm just after the best script I can get.
Hector Elizondo and Adam Arkin were two guys I liked a lot.
It seems to me, in this culture, you need to have a subsidy to do theatre, not that I put theatre above anything else.
I worked at the New York Civil Liberties Union as a starving actor in the early '80s. I was in love with what they were doing.
Every lawyer is an actor. The place where a lawyer's acting ability shines most is certainly in the courtroom, but it works very well in the boardroom and in the office.
It's funny, but as time goes by, I get stopped in airports all the time, and it's always about 'Shannon's Deal.'
With 'Chicago Hope,' I'm seeing if anyone will like me again.
I've kind of done everything late.
I think life is a little more basic here in Australia. There aren't so many distractions. People seem to feel they can be kinder with each other here, I think, to a greater extent than in the States.
I wanted the opportunity to work with Judy Davis and Simon Wincer.
