In the studio, if they need to come down to the floor, things are a bit pushy, although it is easier for them to say things directly rather than through about five people.

We had a very energetic floor manager and he was always jumping around all over the place. The director would send down messages like, Can you tell that actor to calm down?

When I watched Ellen come out in '97, my jaw was on the floor. I thought, There are some people who break the doors down, hold them open, and some people who walk right through.

I would say I have taken substantive action to make things easier for people.

I guess writing is a kind of therapy in the sense that there are things you need to say and you say them, and better out than in.

People say, 'You will be 30 years old; you're too old. You'll get your nose broke,' say dad's a pushy dad. You hear stupid things and put them out of your mind.