I moved out to Los Angeles a fan of many people, and meeting people I put on a pedestal that just disappointed me. Without fans, this business would not exist, so I try and say that we're all on the same level.
I did a couple of movies in Brazil, and the actors were incredibly congenial and hung out together a lot. Even the biggest stars would do radio commercials - they're not put on a pedestal like they are in the United States.
I'd like to see the word 'entrepreneur' knocked off its pedestal. Being 'entrepreneurial' is something I look for not only in founders to invest in, but also employees to hire.
I don't want to be put on a pedestal. I just want to be reasonably successful and live a normal life with all the conveniences to make it so.
When I close my eyes and think of a writer, I don't imagine him or her as someone who is sitting above me on a pedestal, blindfolded, holding the scales of justice in one hand! No, I see sentences.
It's always nerve-wracking when people say they look up to you or that you're a good role model. It's such a double-edged sword, because you realize you've been put on this pedestal, and you have to make sure that you don't do anything to get torn down.
When you become famous, people can have a powerful yet illusory idea of who you are. You want to live your life, but still, you don't want to let anyone down. I know Ed Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Cantrell, all those guys felt it. They're smart, real, and all of a sudden, they're put on a pedestal.
The temptation in any approaching crisis or conflict is, because people haven't got a clue what lies ahead, they're always searching into the past for some sort of pattern ... to galvanise the nation or their supporters and put themselves on a pedestal to sound Churchillian or Rooseveltian.