I was only in one play at Steppenwolf, in the early days.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My first lead role was a stage play called 'A Kestrel for a Knave'. I was 11.
I've been blessed. Starting with Steppenwolf Theater and onward, learning from wonderful actors and getting to play with wonderful actors.
I've done two 'Hamlets,' two 'Lears,' three 'Midsummer Night's Dreams' - I've done most of these plays more than once, and every time I direct them, I learn things.
I was an actor for over a year before I ever saw a play.
I did a play called Throne of Straw when I was 11, at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. It became really clear to me at that point that I enjoyed acting more than any other experience I was having.
I played Hamlet, I played Chekhov and Ibsen and all the classics.
I was in 20 Shakespearean plays by the time I was 20.
Steppenwolf has always been at the center of everything in my professional life.
I was in a lot of school plays, and it became the thing I did.
I did two or three plays every summer.