One of the most defining experiences in my life was living in Moscow for two years.

It's really where I feel like I became an artist.

I got to study at the famous Moscow Art Theatre.

You know, it was Chekhov's Theatre, it was Stanislavsky's Theatre.

Moscow was completely alive and you could feel this sense of history that was palpable on the streets

because so many of the people that I studied with and learned from,

you know, they had grown up under a completely different kind of system.

During Soviet times, public gatherings were outlawed.

There was no way to get together and to express ideas and to share ideas.

The only place really where you could do that was in the theatre and these state sanctioned theaters.

And the art that was made in these theaters had to have a pro-state message.

Myrehold, who was one of the most revered directors in the history of the Moscow Art Theatre.

And Myrehold was assassinated by the KGB in his apartment.

There's a palpability of this kind of danger that exists on the street of Moscow.

The brutality of that city at times really sickened me.

I was also overwhelmed by the beauty of the people and the beauty of the spirit and the beauty of the art.

It's also given me this sense of such a deep appreciation for this country

and how sacred this freedom that we have is.

We spoke to one of my very dear friends in Russia.

These are dangerous times and I think that this perspective is unbelievably valuable.

I hope you listen with an open heart and again,

I think this is the perspective of somebody who I consider to be one of the realest ones out there.

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