Harvey Fierstein

I have to work really hard, eight shows a week, to get a nice check as an actor. But when I write a play, and it's a - knock wood - hit, the checks come in for many years.

I got a lovely check today from being a writer that I earned by sitting at home. That's rewarding.

I don't believe in the afterlife, so I do think when somebody passes, it's worthy of note.

Theater has to resonate in your heart in a way that movies don't.

Anyone with a smart phone is a potential eyewitness cameraman capturing and transmitting stories at speeds that turn Reuter photos and traditional reporting into, well... yesterday's news.

A child's kiss is magic. Why else would they be so stingy with them?

I actually pray everyday, but I don't believe in God.

To me, if a heterosexual has a right to do it, then I have a right to do it. And if it's important to the gay youth - who are now setting the agenda - then its important to me.

I am thrilled - I can't stress that enough - thrilled when I see kids getting active.

Political movements always belong to the young.

It would be nice to redefine ourselves - at the moment we are drowning in diversity. That's not a bad thing, its just going to take a while before we refocus.

When I write stuff and I help cast it, I turn away good people all the time. I may turn them down because this one's too tall and that one doesn't have a high enough voice or this one looks to old to match up with that one - there's a billion reasons not to hire somebody.

There are times when I don't take roles because I don't want to be perceived a certain way.

I actually may do a musical next year... not one that I've written; one that I may star in. Plus my concert and other people's work and all of a sudden you've got a very full life.

And I believe that you never be limited in what you do, so I like to do movies, I like to do television.

My play Safe Sex was picked apart because critics thought it was untrue. It was a play in which no one had AIDS, but the characters talked about how it was going to change their lives.

In Torch Song, I did that character almost non-stop from 1978 until I made the movie in 1987. Then I had some failure, which also colors how you react to doing other things.

It's through sheer will that I can sing.

What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change.

It's a lot of fun to play someone you don't normally think of yourself as.