[On his role in Carrie (1976)]: I wanted to work with Brian De Palma. I knew the film would be interesting and attract a lot of attention.

"I have fame on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or an Elvis, but part of the reason I didn't go the way they did was because of my beliefs. People make judgments about Scientology, but often they don't know what they're talking about."

There is nothing gay in this movie ('Hairspray'). I'm not playing a gay man. Scientology is not homophobic in any way. In fact it's one of the more tolerant faiths. Anyone's accepted.

When they asked me to be Edna Turnblad I said, 'Gee, 32 years as a leading man… why me? What makes you think I'd be the perfect woman?'

As you get older you have to force yourself to have new dreams. For instance, I've been flying for 37 years but now teaching others to fly is interesting for me. Sometimes you have to find new angles on life to keep you interested, like sharing successes and inspiring and helping others. You have to go out of your way to activate your dreams and keep them going in this third chapter of your life.