I feel like I learn more from our kids than I could ever hope to teach them. I love the rare quiet moment of spoken or unspoken love at the end of a great day, and knowing that no matter what, you will always be there for each other.

[on his role in The Normal Heart] I don't want to let go of Felix. Usually by the time I'm done [with a role], I'm like, 'OK, let's close that chapter and move on,' but I don't want to let go of him because I think he changed me for the better. I grew from getting to play him.

One thing I hope that the younger generation will take from watching [The Normal Heart] is how much we owe to these people who banded together when it was not an easy thing to do. I wouldn't be able to call Simon my husband if it weren't for these people... To get to tell the story is a gift, and something I feel that I owe to them.

[on The Normal Heart] There was a moment when Mark [Ruffalo] and I just held on to each other and sobbed for a good 15 minutes. Not because of anything we had done but because we were a part of this story that was so much bigger than us, and because we knew that this was how a generation of people had to say goodbye to each other. Taking in the gravity of that moment was really overwhelming. It was just one of those things you don't ever forget.

[on being introduced to the plays of Bertolt Brecht, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Miller in high school] I think growing up in the suburbs can be this safe haven where you're sheltered from a lot of things. Obviously there's a shadow that comes with that, but I wanted to know about my world and I don't think I would have had I not been able to read those plays. It certainly wasn't going to be from reading 'Jane Eyre' in English class.

[on the film version of 'The Normal Heart'] I think that this movie will be incredibly powerful and influential for many generations. I think it's gonna be therapeutic for one generation. I think it's going to be clarifying for my generation who came onto the scene going, 'What happened here?' This is like we're dealing with war widows, but nobody knew there was a war going on.

[on playing 'Felix' in 'The Normal Heart'] It was a gift to get to play a gay role that was written in a three-dimensional human way. You read so many things that are these stereotypes that I find offensive.

[on performing in 'Magic Mike'] It was like a stripper boot camp. We embarrassed ourselves in our own rehearsal room. But the best part of it was that it became this ensemble-building experience. We all knew we were terrified, but we manned up together to get it done.

When you are singing Journey, you have to commit.

I've never cared about how successful or how big I was going to be. I just wanted to be part of a story that affected people, made them laugh or cry. To me, that was more important than having my face on some billboard.

I feel comfortable in old clothes, anything that has gotten me through a traumatic experience I hold on to.

I'm a creature of comfort. When I'm around the house, it's jeans, T-shirts, old jackets.

They rightfully believe the trade-off is you and your show get publicity.

That gives me some variety so I'm not pigeon-holed as con artists and swindlers.

I get to leave the nest and do things here and there.

Sometimes shows appear before their time. As an actor, all you can control is what you do.

So many things are zeitgeist dependent, it's how they're marketed, what kind of love they're given, who's in control.

I wanted to go to Northwestern and become a serious journalist, but I think there was some divine hand leading another way.

I'd inhabit a character until I saw another one. That accessed part of my imagination.

I just do my work and live my life. There's always that volume knob of people's voices and speculation. But I found you can turn it as low as you want. I have a great family and people in my life. I don't focus on other parts of the business.

It was an amazing experience, I think the last time I sang on stage was 10 years ago.

[on auditioning for his role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)] "I'm a New York actor, so I heard about the project, and I put myself on tape twice from New York. And they said they were interested in me, so I flew myself out to L.A. to test for it with Michael Bay. And a great thing about this movie and, another way I think it's unique, is that there is more exposition. You really get to know the protagonists of this movie a lot more in the beginning and, hopefully, invest in them somehow so that, when bad things go happen to them, you really care. And I think that Michael Bay just wanted to make sure - there wasn't a lot of screaming and yelling. I think they could figure out from the scenes whether or not you could pull that off. I think he wanted to just see more of whether or not I understood the character's duality - how he could be a nice guy with his girlfriend, but how ultimately he is this military guy who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders".

[on working with R. Lee Ermey] "R. Lee's great. I've learned a lot from working with him. He's a tremendous actor, and he brings so much to the character and so much to the set. And we're very fortunate, 'cause he's one of those guys who actually, when he comes to the set in the morning, he just wants to make the scene the best it can possibly be, and he figures all that stuff out. And those are my favorite kind of people to work with. I've really enjoyed it. He's thoroughly entertaining and really does different stuff every take, and just really embodies the character".