I have been making hip-hop since I was a kid growing up in New York in the '80s and '90s. It's always been a hobby of mine - I've been making beats and writing songs for as long or longer than I've been acting.

I had this tic where I touch my mouth to my knee, and I'm always screwing up my back. I've had two shoulder surgeries. My doctor just smiles and laughs at me.

My first tic was to shake my head violently. I was in karate class, and I was shaking violently. All of a sudden, I just started to notice that the teacher was looking at me, and all the kids were wondering what I was doing. I suddenly felt really strange.

In the years when teenagers really need to be connected to somebody, they aren't; especially in small towns where kids are bored and look for something to get them going.

I've got three brothers and two sisters. Dad was a plumber who worked really hard to support six children, and Mum was busy at home. The four brothers shared a room, a bunk bed on each side. It wasn't luxurious.

I think I was afraid of being a mother for many reasons. I wanted to be a good mom, and I was fearful at one point of even working at the national level because I was afraid that I would disappoint a child or I wouldn't be as ready for a big position as maybe I should have been when I came to Fox.

My health and my family are the core of my being.

I have two children. I have a Down syndrome child whom I love very much, and my wife that I love.