When I was young, I remember feeling a real thirst for opportunities around the arts, for learning about how artists function and how institutions work.
A civilised society ought to make ample provision for everyone, no matter their background, to enjoy the arts and culture.
I moved to New York City in '92 and had no money. I had a lot of free time, as actors do. I would go to the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center.
I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.
I don't want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light.
I was practically driven to Rome in order to obtain the opportunities for art culture and to find a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color. The land of liberty had no room for a colored sculptor.
I was just lucky enough to grow up in a time when they actually had drama departments in schools.
Man, I'm pretty spoiled in San Antonio. I don't do media every day.
At 17 years old, STG took me under its wing and shared its resources and wisdom with me, even allowing me to take part in a show at the Edinburgh Festival. Without STG and the Ramshorn Theatre, I would not have found access to the world of drama that I later made my profession.
Like most citizens of popular and international urban centres, I don't take advantage of the cultural opportunities. Perhaps this comes from growing up in suburbia. Home is where you eat, sleep, read, watch television and ignore your parents. It is not where you go to the ballet and then attend a heated panel discussion about it afterwards.
I was a bit odd as a kid, because there were so little outlets for me. There was no theatre except for the odd community theatre and school shows. The only movie theatre was at the Canadian Forces Base nearby in Comox, so it either showed kiddie flicks for the families and restricted stuff for the men.
New York is not conductive to theater. New York does not encourage its young. It does not encourage experimentation.
We were quite a middle class family, but we had access to all the good things in life, be it books or access to a club. I was outgoing and did a lot of elocution, singing and theatre.
I think if I hadn't been born in a pit village I'd have been part of a dramatic society.
I often think now I'm a lot older, what would have happened if I was born in the middle of the city, where there was a drama class.
I'm privileged to have had some success, but I've never forgotten what it was like to queue for a half-crown gallery seat for 'Oliver!' which is why I ensure that there are £20 day tickets for 'Miss Saigon' and that the balconies in my theatres are as comfortable as I can possibly make them.
If I had grown up in London, I wouldn't have been as keen to become a comedian or a writer. I'd have been able to see a lot of good films and music and comedy. I'd have been distracted. As it was, I had to make it.
I was from Washington, D.C., and then I came to New York and got the scholarship for the ballet.
As the graying of the country continues its march forward, many retirees are now relocating to dense urban centers for the cultural and social opportunities, access to public transportation, and the ability to shop nearby for food and household needs without depending unduly on others.
If you're in Alabama, you're selling tax incentives - with all due respect to Alabama - because what else are you going to sell? In New Jersey, you've got location, public education, highly educated workforce, density, diversity, infrastructure.
The sense of possibility so necessary for success comes not just from inside us or from our parents. It comes from our time: from the particular opportunities that our place in history presents us with.
Equal wealth and equal opportunities of culture have simply made us all members of one class.
