I come from the world of improv; I love any show or any vehicle that gives me an opportunity to be in the moment.
I lost relatives to AIDS, a couple of my closest cousins. I lost friends to AIDS, high-school friends who never even made it to their 21st birthdays in the '80s. When it's that close to you, you can't really deny it, and you can't run from it.
I would have been content to just do studio work, making it on my own never really entered my mind.