Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.

We know that there are unaccounted-for Scud and other ballistic missiles in Iraq. And part of the problem is that since 1998 there has been no way to even get minimal information about those programs except through intelligence means.

I don't deny that there are problems in the intelligence world but I would argue that in the UK we try to uphold the highest standards in the world.

Too many problem-solving sessions become battlegrounds where decisions are made based on power rather than intelligence.

Intellectuals solve problems geniuses prevent them.

It's not that I'm so smart it's just that I stay with problems longer.

Writing gives me the opportunity to explore ideas play with language solve problems use my imagination and draw on my own childhood.

Let me just say that to imagine racism does not exist is imagination. And to imagine that it does not create its own set of problems is true imagination. So let's not imagine that racism is gone extinguished because it's not. We are seeing this in the top levels of the political arena and we are seeing it very very plainly.

The way that a handful of corporations in Los Angeles dictate how our stories are told creates a real poverty of imagination and it's a big problem.

The costume that I wear on the show is a little snug and doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination. I don't have a problem with it because of the way this character's been written.