I always say my first job is my building trade. The rest comes and goes.
But crucially, the apprenticeship schemes benefit apprentices themselves, who get a good foundation for a career, and it helps to open doors and break down barriers that some people face.
I consider my education to be the first 10 years of my career.
The first long chapter of my career was almost entirely theater so that, by the time I was 30, 35, I sort of knew who I was as an actor, and I was gradually learning who I was as a human being.
Both my parents have done considerable work in theatre and I have grown up with that culture, but I still felt that I needed formal training.
'The Hulk' was the beginning of me, a platform as an actor to grow.
Rip Rig & Panic was a milestone for me, and I've always been really thankful that I did that when I was 16. It saved me for when I suddenly became really successful later on. So even when my head's been spinning like a banshee, my feet still feel held down to the ground.
Playing for the Kansas City Monarchs was like my school, my learning, my world. It was my whole life.
The decisions that you make in your career stem out from the experiences you have early on in your career.
I like to refer to my years with the Angels as the foundation of my career.
I think now I've established myself as a director, but starting out, I'd be foolish to think that every opportunity that came after 'The Wonder Years' didn't stem from 'The Wonder Years.' So I owe so much of everything for that show.
Knowing Latin and having two years of Attic Greek gave me the strong foundation upon which I've built a career. I think the classical training, more than anything, has provided me with longevity.
I'm never gonna step away from stand-up. I can't. That's what got me where I am, and that's also my muse. That's how I stay level-headed. That's what keeps me going.
I know that sounds dramatic, but shooting everything twice and going through the emotions of two different humans was crazy for me at 16. In terms of my career, that was something that really, really formed me.
Performance-wise, you really need to be down in the trenches; you need to do the hard work, for a lot of reasons: To build yourself as a performer, to get a sense of the audience, to work hard and to wonder, 'Do I really want to do this?'
My childhood, adolescence and high school days are unusually important. If there has ever been a time that I developed a uniqueness and sense of humor and the ability to organize, it was then. In those early days, I developed the skills that gave me a certain degree of success in American politics.
I hope the cooks who are working for me now are getting that kind of experience so they can use what they're learning now as a foundation for a great career.
The person who gives you your first job is so important in any industry.
No decent career was ever founded on a public.
Willie D is one of the first people I worked with.
Had I not been a model at the beginning of my career, probably acting would not have happened.
You can determine the kind of life you will have in your 30s and 40s by what you do in your teens.
For a startup to overcome obstacles and succeed, it must foster limitless thinking. By hiring students into their first career job, you get to set their framework for how a company functions and instill them with your values for your company's culture.
I owe a lot to my dad, just for having provided the wrestling business for us to get into.
My personal narrative - I was lucky early on in my career to have some really strong mentors. I didn't realize it at the time, but that's what really built me up.
