Growing up, I was a very shy kid but I felt that being on stage or playing another character would somehow open me up. And I think it did.

The people I idolized I saw once a year on the Tony Awards. I would buy the cassette tapes of the various Broadway shows and scour the photos inside the recording package. That's how I exposed myself to the arts - New York and professional theater felt like a very distant thing.

I kind of cheer the presence of any gay characters at all - I think the more we can saturate television with any gay character or lesbian character or transgender character, I think that's a really great thing. We're kind of getting past the fact that they're the punchline or that they're the novelty.

Well, my personal mission statement is that we want marriage equality in all 50 states. We want it not to be a state-by-state issue. We don't want it to be something the majority is voting on. I don't think the civil rights of any minority should be in the hands of any majority.

We're always thinking of different things to be on the cutting edge of what's entertaining or what's hot on Twitter or social media or even society in general. I've had little goals here and there. But that's the main goal. Always changing, always be prepared to adapt.

That was the most exciting period, I think: at first, when you get the success on that really large scale.

I had to learn to trust people, and I realized that success was going to be born in hiring really bright people - very self-motivated, very able to make good judgment calls day in and day out.

Goal-getting matters. And writing down the brave acts and bold dreams you intend to accomplish will provide the spark to get them done.