Quotes

I used to say when I was working in the theater that if I ever had five seasons of a hit TV show I'd never have to worry about money and wouldn't have to do anything I didn't want to do . . . The 12 seasons on Law & Order (1990) really made that possible.

[on working on Law & Order (1990)] It's a lot more fun for actors to cry and rant and rave, or have a drug problem or a drinking problem. Once in a while I get jealous of people who get to do real histrionics. But that's all right. That stuff's only about awards. It's not about people watching. People are very loyal to our show and they want to see the case resolved in an hour.

It may sound a little off the wall to say this, but having the opportunity to do this in this long an arc has given me - and is continuing to give me - a feeling that I'm doing something for the city and for the people of it and for the cops. I see it every day on the street. The profile of Law & Order (1990) has gotten bigger and bigger. And the way the city feels about us . . . it's like we're part of the good things that happen in the city.

When I first began in this business I was doing a lot of musical theater but the problem was that people wouldn't hire me outside of that. I wasn't being taken seriously as an actor so I started taking more dramatic roles and serious acting jobs and eventually it got to the point where people were saying, "I really like his stuff. Does he sing?"

[on why he decided to join the cast of "Law & Order" (1990)] Back in the early '60s my pal David Janssen was doing The Fugitive (1963). He used to come home eight, nine o'clock at night, having gotten up at five in the morning, have one drink and boom! He'd fall asleep on the couch and we'd carry him to bed. I told myself, "I will never do an hour drama. It's just too hard". But then, as you get older . . .