I've had so many projects where people have said, "This is the one that will launch you; you're going to be a big star." It hasn't happened although my career continues to build steadily. More parts are open to me, and more people know of me, and I like that better than suddenly being the new Eddie Murphy or John Travolta. When and if that kind of responsibility for a play or film is thrust on me, I'll be ready because I have a large backlog of experience.

The thing about television is that it fades very quickly. That so-called stardom thing is very elusive. Television churns out so much so fast that each new thing erases the last. Enduring stardom, I think, takes a body of work.

[on the benefits of film acting] There's a certain kind of smallness when they come in tight, a kind of subtlety and a kind of naturalism that you can't do on stage. You're allowed to be very, very real and very, very spontaneous.

Film acting is about your motivation, it's about why you decide this or that, whereas on stage the action is more important than the decision.

I've never burned to be a star. You have to have enough of a name to get the big parts with the best people.