Some of the worst advice I've been given doesn't sort of sound like terrible advice. And maybe it's the way I've internalized the advice. Always stand up for your principles is probably good advice. The way I've internalized it is burn your bridges. So I think that--you know what I mean?

I did. As a kid, I liked music. I still like it a lot of course. I used to play the violin. I did contemplate, well, maybe that’s an option. I could become a musician. Somehow my parents got some advice that unless I was willing to spend eight or 10 hours a day just playing the violin that I should just give it up. To me, that was very bad advice because you could of course, get very involved in music without being a musician. Fortunately, even though I gave up eventually playing the violin myself, I never gave up my fondness for music. But if I had a chance again, I would not give it up. I would just do it as a hobby. I think that was just because I did not get the correct advice.

So I really tried everything, including, you know, just how to build the team in such a way that I delegate everything, and I have my different business lines, and arrange things. This is sort of after the IPO, and I realized I have to be a very “serious” public company CEO. And so it almost killed the company, honestly.

This professor was obviously on the jury, and I wanted to stay the faculty’s blessed son, and so I trusted external validation at this point in my life more than my own creative compass. So, like a lemming, I followed his advice. I spent the whole night undoing eight months’ work and recutting the film. And the next day, I presented this hacked up Frankenstein to the faculty, who absolutely demolished it.

I would say, “Don’t worry. It’s all going to be fine.” I always thought it would be fine, but there was a long time when it wasn’t fine. In terms of my career, the biggest thing I wanted to do was work in this theater in Glasgow. That was my dream. I thought that was a huge dream and maybe I’d move to London one day. I just wanted to work and I still just want to do work. I do think this happening to me is partially due to a a willingness to be like “Okay, I’ll go to America.” I’m not hungry.

The power of positive thinking.

Being hit on the head with a brick, and like a bowl of hearty soup.

I really love structure and I think that one of the things I like so much about the theater is the routine. I’m looking forward to this play I’m going to do in London with Daniel Radcliffe, and just the idea that I’ll go to work at the same time every night and I know what I’ll be doing for the next few months. That’s so pleasing to me. I think everyone needs routine and structure in your life.

It’s killing the planet. It’s killing you. It’s killing all of us. Walk away.

I think the notion of a bucket list is kind of wrong, actually. If you want to do something, go and do it. Don't put it on a list and think, I want to do this before I die. What if you die tomorrow? Just go and do the things. Seize the day. A couple of years ago, I decided I'd like to do a dance piece, and I ended up doing this one-man dance-theater piece about (Scottish poet) Robert Burns. I just wanted to use my body in a different way.