Out of nowhere, I became a fairly well-known director with a penchant for opera, which I did for 10 years. Then I realized I was taking myself out the theater channel, and so I re-focused on theater.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I don't come from an artistic family, so I didn't know what theater was. I was working on Wall Street in the '90s, and I went to see 'Appointment With a High-Wire Lady' at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and it affected me so deeply. It changed everything I thought about the arts. I quit banking and became an actor.
I made theater very important in the beginning of my career.
I was heavily involved in musical theater.
When I was at drama school I wanted to do classical theatre. It just so happened that I did a film when I came out and I moved that way.
I came up through the theater. I came out of drama college and started working in the professional theater.
I was probably never going to get to do the kind of things dramatically that I really wanted to do, so I returned to theater from time to time, and to write, and produce. It's by no means sour grapes.
When I first started acting, I started in opera and had a great desire to play grand, tragic characters. I got sidetracked in musical theater and ended up doing a lot of comedy.
I did theatre all my life and then went into the film world. I then kind of segued into TV land, which is a different experience.
After I left college, I went to work at the Royal Opera House in London, which became a real catalyst for me because it made me realize that I was interested in cinema and in the way life is thrust at you. So I started making films.
I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.