From time to time I'll look back through the personal journals I've scribbled in throughout my life the keepers of my raw thoughts and emotions. The words poured forth after my dad died when I went through a divorce and after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There are so many what-ifs scribbled on those pages.

You know when everyone's watching your mom and dad your friends in high school who thought they were better than you. You get your chance to get in the spotlight and shine.

As much as I transferred my mother to Elizabeth Shore of The Black Dahlia as much as her dad mutated into an obsession with crime in general well I have thought about other things throughout the years.

My kids love it. I thought I was the coolest dad in the world when I got to be in a Bond film but 'Harry Potter' too? Well I think I qualify for a medal for exceptional parenting or something don't you?

I didn't really hear any other music other than what my dad was working on until I was 12. My recollection of hearing other music was that I liked some things that I heard but I always thought 'Where's the rest of it?' It didn't have the same amount of detail or instrumentation or imagination in the arrangements.

I think there's nothing better than laughing in life so that's nice to be thought of as someone who can make someone laugh. It's 'cause I think life is hard. You know my dad was a really silly man. A great Irish silly man. And that's fine.

And my dad wanted me to play the trumpet because that's what he liked. His idol was Louis Armstrong. My dad thought my teeth came together in a way that was perfect for playing the trumpet.

It is because my dad died suddenly that I became an actor. I thought I'm going to make money doing this thing I enjoy.

Growing up I didn't give my grandfather's photography a second thought. I wasn't involved in his work except that I helped my dad print his negatives.

My dad of course like a lot of Asian parents wanted me to be an engineer or doctor and never could understand why I would want to be a lawyer. And then when I first said I wanted to run for office he thought that was absolutely insane.