Families are families are families are families.

You know that thing where you're trying to do the crossword puzzle, and you're trying to fit the word that's in your head in the puzzle, and then you go 'Ugh!' and you walk away, and then it comes to you. I'm interested in that moment. The release of expectation, and the release of pleasing yourself and pleasing anybody. Breaking the mindset.

I think everyone needs to know that I steal biscotti on Delta Airlines. People need to know that.

They're my instructors, and every parent will understand that.

'Attaboys' help people. I am huge on attaboy. Confidence is the great ingredient to living and art, with fidelity to self. It's so important to surround yourself with people who give you confidence.

I give a speech at some colleges and corporations called 'Performing Your Life: An Evening with Jeffrey Tambor.' I get asked a lot of questions, and people say, 'Your stories are wonderful. You should write a book.'

The Tambors were conservative Jews, and we attended Temple Beth Shalom at 14th Avenue and Clement Street in San Francisco. We were the only Jewish family for miles. To me, being Jewish meant 'otherness.'

I get up and cook for my kids, who really like my scrambled eggs. Or we make pancakes and the requisite bacon. The kids either play or watch cartoons, and Daddy gets to read the 'New York Times' and do his puzzle.

I was with Robert Preston in 'Sly Fox.'

'Dad, Dad, I'm getting married.' 'Sh-sh, don't say it. Nothing, nothing. Don't do anything.' So he honestly - 'cause he was taught don't celebrate - they'll take it away from you. And his parents were taught that, and his parents and parents' parents. Because if you did celebrate, and you were visible, it could be very, very dangerous.

I was bar mitzvahed at Beth Shalom, and I had trouble. I didn't quite get it all.

People are identifying not only with the trans movement, but also the Pfefferman family. What I am noticing is people are coming up on the street and talking about their life and their family, and they say, 'Your family is just like mine.'

The brilliance of Jill Soloway is that while some people will give you Season Two, plus 10%, she's just kicked it.

I had a bilateral lisp, and I was overweight. I was the kid who played with the flowers on the ground in the outfield during baseball. I was that kid.

We are part of the zeitgeist, and we are communicating in a human, real way.

Some people have a mandate that you can't change.

I wanted to do well for me and for Maura. It is bigger than me. I have a responsibility. It's incumbent upon me to do Maura the best I can.

I went bald when I was 18. My father cried. He cried about many things. But it allowed me to play older men in summer stock.

There are times between five and seven when this house is like a bowling alley, but it's reinspired me. My acting has gotten better because of these kids. I feel the same spirit I did when I was doing Off-Broadway.

The shedding of any clothes, when you're 70 years old, is tricky.

We all know about secrets - to have that pressure of something you can't reveal. That's universal: 'Am I safe? Am I gonna be OK? Will my family still love and respect me?'

The day before I work, I don't like to even look at the script and let whatever happens happen on the set. But I do prepare a lot. I'm a big believer in that.

When I was young kid, I used to watch Jack Benny, and I thought the minimal aspect of what he did was revelatory. I loved Jack Benny.

There are secrets in families. That is the definition of a family.