Because of what I did when I was 10 years old, I`m not living from paycheck to paycheck, and I can do things because I want to do them.

They put it on the page because it sounded good or it looked good or they read it in a book somewhere that this is how you structure a script or something, and they just don`t get it. It`s surprising.

I did 14 movies in six years, I had a cartoon TV show, and I don`t want to do that again. I just want to make unique pieces of art. That`s why I quit everything when I was 14 and sat around for eight years before I did another movie.

Michael Jackson and I talk all the time. I think we understand each other in a way that most people can`t understand either of us.

I went to high school, which was a good thing because I hadn`t interacted with many people my age, and I didn`t really have friends. I had a million acquaintances and no friends.

It`s a place where I could do something on a weekly basis and see if I like it.

I did a radio interview for a station in Connecticut or something, and it was the worst interview ever. It was all yes and no answers.

Contrary to popular belief, I`ve never been to rehab. I`ve never been to jail, never been arrested. All the child-star clichés. I`ve tried very hard to avoid them all.

I`m doing naughty things, I`m drinking too much, I`m going to clubs. It really didn`t matter to me, other than the fact that some parents wouldn`t let their kids hang out with me.

I could have gone the route of a lot of these former child actors, but I didn`t want that for myself. Like I said, when I was 14 years old, I decided to quit. I didn`t ever want to do it again.

I write a good amount. I`ve been gathering up a backlog of stuff and maybe I`ll do something with it someday, but I don`t want to talk about it just yet because that would jinx it.

He was so excited. He cut out pictures of these landscapes and neighborhoods and kind of really tried to give you a feel of the movie. It was kind of cute but at the same time it really showed his enthusiasm for it.

It was for one of his last Christmas specials. I remember I went to his hotel room to rehearse with him, and he was zoned out on medication or something, and I`m thinking, How is this going to happen?

I don`t mind if somebody comes up to me and shakes my hand, but if I`m in the middle of a restaurant and somebody asks me for a picture, I can be a jerk and say no, or I can say yes and draw more attention to myself, which is exactly the opposite of what I want.

I`m the most out-of-work actor I know. In the last two years I`ve basically taken meetings for a living.

I`m one of those people who`d probably go crazy if I had to do something week in and week out for five years. But I`ll check it out.

[March 2006]: Acting found me. I thought maybe I should try to find it again. We`ll see.

Most of the offers I get from Hollywood are for teen comedies. My manager thinks I`m crazy for turning down all that money, but I`m very picky. I`d made enough money by the time I was 12 to never have to work again, so it`s not about a big check with me. It`s about finding unique, one-of-a-kind films that I would want to see myself. I think Party Monster (2003) is one of those.

I had all the fame anyone could want, and I ran away from it.

People still recognize me all the time on the street. The first thing they say when they stop me is, "Where have you been?" The second comment they make is always, "Oh, you`ve grown up." I`m not one of those actors who needs the media spotlight all the time to feel gratified. I`m happy to do one project a year and take the rest of the year off as long as that project is special.

[On Party Monster (2003)`s script]: When I was first sent the script, I threw it in the garbage like I did with every other script I was sent at the time. I was basically retired.

Contrary to popular belief, I`ve never been to rehab. I`ve never been to jail, never been arrested. All the child-star clichés. I`ve tried very hard to avoid them all.

I just remember the exact point when I was growing a little more tired, during The Good Son (1993). I had already done one or two things that year, and I just said to Kit, "Listen, I`m really getting tired and I`m not at school as much as I`d like to be. I really need some time off". He said, "Yeah, sure" and the next thing I knew I was on the next set doing the next thing and it just kind of clicked in my brain: "Okay. There`s basically nothing I can do to make this stop".

[On his friendship with Michael Jackson]: Michael and I had an understanding about my father. He knew what that was all about. He`d lived it. It`s not like I can just bump into people on the street and say, Oh! You too! It doesn`t happen that often. Michael`s still a kid. I`m still a kid. We`re both going to be about 8 years old forever in some place because we never had a chance to be 8 when we actually were. That`s kind of the beautiful and the cursed part of our lives.

[Responding to questions about his estranged father, May 27, 2004.]: My father was overbearing. Very controlling. He was always the way he is, even before my success. He was not always a good person. He`d play mind games to make sure I knew my place. I don`t see him, which is unfortunate. But I don`t have any desire to see him. I vaguely know where he is, and I don`t want to know. As long as he`s not standing outside my doorstep, I`m fine.

[On his new sitcom deal with NBC]: With "Friends" (1994) biting the dust, the time could now be right for my show.

[Just how rich is he?]: I could sit around with my thumb up my butt watching TV and my kids would still go to college!

It drives me crazy when your parents try to read your mind. It`s even worse when they try to read your mail.

[at age 10]: I don`t even get an allowance.