Politicians... talk in generalities and lies and I think they've caused all our grief. They're so awful they're really funny. I hate thinking this because my dad loved politics.

I was into all kinds of music as a teen - country music because my dad was in a band that played country and whatever my sister and brother were into.

My dad has been married to his wife for 15 years and wherever he goes there better be a seat for her. I like real couples that tell you how to get through on Wednesdays when you're just at the end of your rope - the ones who really know how to make it through. We have to stop looking at Hollywood couples because you're going to get disappointed.

Now that I'm a dad I'm practicing what I call 'one- handed cooking ' because I've got something more important in my other arm. I'm whipping up lots of frittatas and omelets.

As a father now I wouldn't do what my dad did because it left me feeling emotionally unstable as a kid. But he didn't do the things he did out of selfishness or malice.

I loved climbing because of the freedom and having time and space. I remember coming off Everest for the last time thinking of Dad and wishing that he could have seen what I saw. He would have loved it.

When I started writing I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry with him as I've gone on. I certainly don't feel I need his approval although maybe that's because I'm confident that I've got it.

You have to respect your parents. They are giving you an at-bat. If you're an entrepreneur and go into the family business you want to grow fast. Patience is important. But respect the other party... My dad and I pulled it off because we really respect each other.

Before breaking into music I had various jobs: forklift driver driving a courier. But I was forced into working rather than doing it off my own bat because that was my dad's way: you got a job and paid your way.

I was always embarrassed because my dad wore a suit and my mother wore flat pumps and a cozy jumper while my friends' parents were punks or hippies.

When I moved out of London 13 years ago I found a whole other reason not to drive. This was because my new husband Dan unlike my dad did drive and this became a great source of fun and adventure.

A spirit is like your mother my dad who've made it. They can come around but they come around in a loving way because they've already made it to God. Most people make it.

My sister is totally my dad's daughter because she loves sports.

My dad was the biggest influence on my life because he was never boring.

Also for me it was different because I play a lot of villains and in this one I play a dad and I play a good guy basically. He's the Secretary of the Treasury. I never had a job like that.

I couldn't walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at. It was a nightmare. My children were devastated because their dad was a figure of ridicule.

I have this complex. I don't like too much exposure. I don't know why it is. Maybe it's bred in me because my dad always told me to be humble and don't think you're too good.

My dad was a militant atheist or is a militant atheist. My mum was sort of bought up in a religious family because she was a Protestant from Ireland but wasn't especially religious.

I came back from university thinking I knew all about politics and racism not knowing my dad had been one of the youngest-serving Labour councillors in the town and had refused to work in South Africa years ago because of the situation there. And he's never mentioned it - you just find out. That's a real man to me. A sleeping lion.

What I do now is all my dad's fault because he bought me a guitar as a boy for no apparent reason.

I like all the angels around because they protect me and my daughter. I mean her Dad's an angel.

My dad used to say 'Just because you dress up in a coat and tie it doesn't influence your intelligence.'

My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They were never rich. And yet they were successful. Because just a few decades removed from hopelessness they made possible for us all the things that had been impossible for them.

My Dad a small-town lawyer was also named Paul. Until we lost him when I was 16 he was a gentle presence in my life. I like to think he'd be proud of me and my sister and brothers because I'm sure proud of him and of where I come from Janesville Wisconsin.