I haven't really decided to be an actor yet! I started doing plays when I was about 15 or 16. I only did it because my dad saw a bunch of pretty girls in a restaurant and he asked them where they came from and they said drama group. He said 'Son that is where you need to go.'

I was into the Mets because my Dad worked at IBM where he got free Mets tickets so I was into the Mets... then I got to 'Saturday Night Live' where my boss has unbelievable N.Y. Yankees tickets so he invites us to the games. I'm going to all the games so I might as well root for the team I'm gonna go sit with.

Politicians... talk in generalities and lies and I think they've caused all our grief. They're so awful they're really funny. I hate thinking this because my dad loved politics.

I was into all kinds of music as a teen - country music because my dad was in a band that played country and whatever my sister and brother were into.

My dad has been married to his wife for 15 years and wherever he goes there better be a seat for her. I like real couples that tell you how to get through on Wednesdays when you're just at the end of your rope - the ones who really know how to make it through. We have to stop looking at Hollywood couples because you're going to get disappointed.

Now that I'm a dad I'm practicing what I call 'one- handed cooking ' because I've got something more important in my other arm. I'm whipping up lots of frittatas and omelets.

As a father now I wouldn't do what my dad did because it left me feeling emotionally unstable as a kid. But he didn't do the things he did out of selfishness or malice.

I loved climbing because of the freedom and having time and space. I remember coming off Everest for the last time thinking of Dad and wishing that he could have seen what I saw. He would have loved it.

When I started writing I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I've gone on. I certainly don't feel I need his approval although maybe that's because I'm confident that I've got it.

You have to respect your parents. They are giving you an at-bat. If you're an entrepreneur and go into the family business you want to grow fast. Patience is important. But respect the other party... My dad and I pulled it off because we really respect each other.