To be able to communicate with people on the other side of the globe is interesting, in an instant.

Culture is this thing that exists apart from our real life but is something we all have tacitly agreed to in America. And what film and television do, particularly in this country, is lay out the characters involved in this invisible agreement and dictate who and what can participate.

I like that guy Matthew Perry a lot.

Sometimes I feel indie directors are in the game so they can make a film to get hired to do a big film - that we're all doing this person's reel.

I think the ability to emphasize is, in large part, what makes me a man and not a boy.

With 'The Exorcist,' a lot of things went into it. I hadn't seen the show until they asked me, and then I checked the show out and thought it was very well done.

When I started acting... the community was largely Chinese-American or Japanese-American, so even then I felt like a minority in the minority.

Sometimes I feel like I don't dream big enough.

'Lost' was a phenomenon, like Elvis.

There was a while where every role I was getting offered was extremely noble - like the judge or the kindly nurse.

I'm not a natural-born actor. So it's been a very slow learning curve for me.

For me, the most interesting thing is longevity and sustaining a career, because that's what's truly difficult.

I'm not a good improv-er, which is what a lot of comedic actors are really good at. I have failed miserably when I've been asked to improvise.

It's hard in America as a writer of color, an actor of color, not to get caught up in race and culture. But you're also supposed to be able to write characters and scenes in a way where it's just a matter of fact, a component.

Actors are supposed to be these runaways that get in a covered wagon filled with hats and tambourines and go from town to town making people smile.

I think Hollywood acts like followers of culture and is constantly seeking to follow trends.

Because I sidestepped all the stereotypical roles, in a way I've made a career out of not being Asian - a lot of my roles weren't written as Asian - so there's an impulse in me that wants to take a U-turn and play a very grounded, real Asian character, maybe an immigrant.

Just because it's in a movie doesn't mean it's real.

The worst thing for a kid is to move around and switch schools, but as an actor, you go from job to job, meeting strangers and becoming very close right away. I've become adept at that.

Ninety per cent of being a parent is just being present and available.

Most people deal with grief in an awkward way, and that can be funny.

There is a real Harold Lee.

I wanted to do 'Manzanar' because I'd never done anything like it before. The spoken word there is between a drama and an essay, and I'd never worked in concert with an orchestra.

I've played roles that aren't expected of an Asian.