I knew I was Chinese, but growing up, it never occurred to me that that had any particular implication or that it should differentiate me in any way. I thought it was a minor detail, like having red hair.

I felt pretty good growing up. I didn't feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to be a movie or a television show with Asian characters, I would go out of my way to avoid them, because they portrayed all Asians as either ridiculously good or ridiculously bad; you know, the whole Charlie Chan-Fu Manchu thing.

With theatre, we all agree to suspend our disbelief about so many things, but not about race. It's totally OK to have one actor playing five roles - people are willing to believe that. But they won't believe it if there's a black or an Asian kid who has white parents. What does that say about us?

As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that we can't be trusted, and that even my father, who was patriotic to the point that it was kind of a joke among his children, would be accused of being disloyal to America.

No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.

I'll do what I've got to do in my own career and my own life. For my own happiness. I'm not gonna be bent over a barrel and told what to do.

I think what I show is joy when I do stuff, so I think always having a love for what you do every single day is something that I hold extremely close to my heart because I know what it's like to not feel that.

To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing truth which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth.