Ryan Murphy just gives new people a shot, and it takes a lot of confidence and generosity to do that.

The fun of directing for me, other than working with the actors, is trying to extract those ideas that you have in your head and make them real.

I've been clawing my way to directing since I was a kid.

I just wanted to make movies, but I never though about, "How am I being perceived because of my culture or my skin?"

If you can make the day, you can do whatever you want.

TV is all new to me because I came from features.

I don't set out to do something weird, but if you see something a certain way and it's a little left of center, and you can realize it, that's a real thrill.

It becomes an extension of your imagination to make something tangible and concrete.

To me film school was film history because there weren't a lot of books out there that I had access to.

At some point, you have an opportunity to not be a first-time filmmaker anymore. You can embrace the genre and show the world how you can tell stories on a bigger scale.

If someone already knows you from being in the trenches with you on this TV schedules, and then you have a little bit more time, it's a treat for them, as well, because they can give you more.

Habit: A shackle for the free.

I've been really interested in focusing on the aspects of my Russian heritage I'm proud of. I'm actually em­barrassed to tell people I'm Russian, because it's become such an awful place.

I refused to conform to an image that a lot of people thought a president's brother should adopt.

I suppose it’s comfort, perhaps a sense of self-control, doing worse things to yourself than the world will ever dare inflict.

I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone.

Writers change the world one heart, one mind, at a time. That should be enough to keep us going.

Books are my very favorite gift to give. If you give a book to someone and they really respond to it, you feel you've actually changed their life in some way.

We should die relying on grace alone

Well, usually when I finish one character, I'm looking for a role that's really different.

Norman Bates heard the noise and a shock went through him.