Growing up an only child with a single parent is probably why I'm an actor.

As an actor, you have to maximize your time, because you don't know what's going to happen in your 50s and 60s and 70s. It's like the career of an athlete: For many people, it ends at a certain point.

I think what my hope is is that the only downside of having a steady job on television is, I think for all actors, there's a piece, there's some adrenaline, and part of the love of the job is not knowing what's coming next, and the variety.

Acting is the most bizarre profession. You can stay in it for years and not really be in it and be waiting for someone to give you an opportunity. It's like when I watch 'American Idol' and see people who have been told to believe in themselves at all costs: It's not always a good idea.

The thing that makes 'Dirty Jobs' different is that it's one of the few shows that portrays work in a way that doesn't highlight the drudgery. Instead, it highlights the humor.

The comic is the perception of the opposite; humor is the feeling of it.

You can be good at comedy, which means you'll be given spots, but beyond that it is luck that pushes you to the next level. There are loads of brilliant comedians who haven't had the breaks, and plenty of average comedians who have.

When you do find humor in trying times, one of the first and most important changes you experience is that you see your perplexing problems in a new way - you suddenly have a new perspective on them.