Life's so brief,” she goes on. “We're, at every juncture, staring mortality in the face. It's the very least we can do if we think it will be of any interest or value, to share the past. And although mine's been crooked, it's also been splendid. It's taught me to be vulnerable and humble, to write this book.

I was caught in a private cycle of sadness and the only conceivable relief I could find was in the telling.

The elegance and the quality - the talent is always in the literature. I start with the word and I base everything on that. It doesn't make any difference to me.

An Edward Povey hangs in my living room and every day I am reminded of his originality, his beauty, and the eternal promise of his craft.

It's the digital era. What makes it exciting is that it's both the Golden Age of television and the Wild West of television. Something is happening now that's unprecedented, and we know that we're a part of it. What could be more exciting or better than that? You can't lose because you're on the pony and you're staking the claim.

I have a very rich and wonderful personal life, and at its core are my sons.

I've done a lot of television in life, and I don't remember the last time that I felt so consistently happy [working with Jenji Kohan].

I am often fond of saying the Trekkers are passionate about a hobby, their hobby is 'Star Trek.' They are by and large very imaginative, very intelligent people, and they certainly have been more than generous to me.

This is not the 19th century, where actors are expected to play completely opposite roles. We're not typecast, but we're brought in because somebody thinks that it's a good fit, so you make it a better fit.

I think the chemistry on the Orange set is extraordinary and I’m going to risk and say this: I think by virtue of the fact that there are not so many men, we are free to be absolutely authentic. There is a lot of freedom and trust.

Over the course of my career, which is about 40 years, I've visited plenty of prisons and I know what they're like.