I went to school to study literature and writing, even though I didn't end up really doing that in the end. I thought I would be a teacher, but I didn't really think about it in any practical way.

I made a lot of movies that people loved when I was a kid, but I didn't have any real relationship to them.

I think sexuality is fluid, and we have such a strange relationship to it in this country. It's been so fixed and so controlled for so long.

I don't revisit anything unless there's a really good occasion, like BAM screened 'This Is My Life', with Lena Dunham and Nora Ephron before she died. It also screened 'Uncle Buck', so I took my niece. I don't have a TV, so I don't happen upon old movies like you would if you had cable.

'Crystal Fairy' was one of the first movies I did after I recommitted to the idea of acting.

I think anyone who behaves boorishly but without a good sense of humor is not as fun to watch.

Having studied at the Sorbonne, I spent my 21st birthday in Paris and celebrated with one of my professors in a cafe outside of Notre Dame.

If I were in the middle of some kind of legal issue, I would get in my car and drive to Fenway. I'd get to the game early and sit in my seats and say, 'I'm home, I'm happy, and I love it here.' It was my therapy.

In 1980, shortly before my 11th birthday, I wrote my first essay in English.

In 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference, Japan had put forward a proposal to guarantee racial equality at the League of Nations, but Woodrow Wilson overturned it in the face of majority support.

National independence, and the preceding political struggles, helped create the space for literary creation in many post-colonial countries. Much of modern Indian or Chinese literature is inconceivable without the political movement for freedom from foreign rule.

The British Empire passed quickly and with less humiliation than its French and Dutch counterparts, but decades later, the vicious politics of partition still seems to define India and Pakistan.

For boys like me, in north Indian railway towns in the '70s and '80s, where nothing much happened apart from the arrival and departure of trains from big cities, the Soviet Union alone appeared to promise an escape from our limited, dusty world.

Well, I started conducting kind of by accident. I wanted to give myself a special birthday present for my fortieth birthday, and I was living in San Francisco at the time and I started attending some of the concerts and then simply dropping hints.

I grew up in a time when being a musician and learning to be a musician was actually very wonderful.

In college, I wrote newspaper articles and songs. Then, on my 21st birthday, I sold my first book. It was a nonfiction book about women pirates - 'Pirates in Petticoats.' After that, I was a book writer for good.

Read something of interest every day - something of interest to you, not to your teacher or your best friend or your minister/rabbi/priest. Comics count. So does poetry. So do editorials in your school newspaper. Or a biography of a rock star. Or an instructional manual. Or the Bible.

When you realize my best selling books are 'Owl Moon,' the 'How Do Dinosaur' books, and 'Devil's Arithmetic,' how can the public make sense of that! I have fans who think I only write picture books or only write SF and fantasy. I have fanatics of my poetry and are stunned to find out I write prose, too!

Every year before a big competition, I get hurt doing stuff I should not be doing. One year it was my little brother's 12th birthday. We all played hide-and-seek late at night. I climbed up a 30-foot tree, thinking he'd never catch me. I tripped and fell on one of the branches and I hit my head.

I'm not jealous of anybody, because I'm going to live my life the way I want to live it. I'm not going to be like, 'Oh my God they have this, I want that.'

I grew up listening to oldies, like Motown. That's from my mom.

I believe everyone has a soul mate that they can spend the rest of their life together.

I want to design my own clothing line. I'm very into fashion. It's something I really want to focus on when swimming is over.

At her birthday, my seven-year-old daughter will say that she wants these big cakes and certain expensive toys as presents, and I can't say no to her. It would just break my heart. But when I was little, for birthdays we just played outside and we were happy if we got any cake.

All I watch is the Food Network. I took a cheesemaking class a few weeks ago, and I told my family and friends to only get me kitchen stuff on my birthday. I'm into every kind of cookbook and anything by Anthony Bourdain. I'd love to own a restaurant if I could find the right chef.

I remember being, like, 5 years old, and my dad took me to a Yankees-Mets game. My dad had me on his shoulders and taught me one of the most important lessons about sports. He said, 'Jesse, just remember one thing, the Mets suck.'

My mother was not the cook in the family. My dad was. I'd watch him behind the grill, and I said, 'If I ever make it and have enough money, I'm going to make sure I dine in the best restaurants.'

I love a girl that can make me laugh. I am not really a laugh-at-things type of guy and I don't smile and laugh all the time... But if a girl can make me laugh... I'm in love!!!!

I like to smile when its natural. I'm not mad or anything. That's my style.

I was only 16 when I was selected for 'Madrasapattinam.' I celebrated my 17th birthday on the set of the film. That was the first time I had travelled to India, and it was a rollercoaster ride. I soon fell in love with the country.

Rajinikanth is an absolute legend to work with. Imagine meeting him every day and spending time with him on the set. Sharing the frame with him is a lifetime experience; there's a reason he is called a legend.

Every time someone buys a cat or a dog from a breeder or a pet shop, a cat on the streets or in an animal shelter loses his or her chance at finding a good home.

I love my pets, and I'm a big animal lover. I also enjoy the nature and countryside.

I won Miss Teen World, and then a movie rep saw me on the pageant website and thought that I had the perfect image for the role in 'Madrasapattinam.'

Learning Indian mannerisms, how to wear saris, and the language were a challenge.

We can stop the cycle of animal homelessness and save lives by opening our hearts and homes to a loving cat or dog from an animal shelter instead of buying animals from breeders or pet shops.

I just have to attend someone's birthday party or go out for dinner with someone else for us to be in a relationship. That's not going to stop me from socialising, but tell me, which girl would want to be with a guy who goes to bed early and gives more importance to the gym?

The future of filmmaking is to make the canvas bigger, something you can't enjoy on your phones or computers.

It's tough to do a romantic scene with someone you don't like. I have been lucky so far.

I used to play rugby, which requires a lot of physical strength. The game requires you to get aggressive.

No offense, but I don't get the whole concept of arranged marriage. I'd rather know the person who I'll settle down with.

If you are the kind who has an active lifestyle and are not hellbent on looking all buffed up, I'd think a vegetarian diet is the way to go.

I have some really nice memories of Delhi. Going swimming, roaming around in Defence Colony, cycling in its beautiful, wide lanes, and enjoying good food.

I was put on a pony as a kid at some birthday party when you're all led around.

Anyone that has been lucky enough to go to the races and witness the magnificent spectacle of a competitive race will know how people like me can instantly fall in love with the power and beauty of race horses in full gallop.

To be honest, after you've crossed the line at the Olympic Games, it is bedlam for the next, about, five or six hours. Media, press conference, dope control - you might get some food if you're lucky. You might see family if you're lucky.

I naturally favour a clean, healthy diet. A salad sandwich is one of my favourite meals!

I think just drinking juice is too extreme for a diet. Your body needs more than juice, so I think it's a very hard thing to do - very challenging and probably very unhealthy for your body. You can't get everything you need from a juice. I love juice because it can provide you with nutrients - but drink it alongside your diet!

I genuinely enjoy the process of making colourful, delicious food. But I do allow myself an occasional piece of chocolate - today I had a pastry. If I fancy something, I'll have it.

I don't like to party. I like to spend time with family on my birthday.