Pete Ploszek

Acting very quickly became a dream of mine, but the acting game privileges youth. It takes a while to build credits and, because of that, it's not the kind of career you can jump into in your 40s or 50s. The ship sets sail by then.

I was very fortunate to be raised with an 'if not you, then who?' mentality, and I count my blessings every day to have the support of my family and especially my wife. She's got a front-row seat on the roller coaster.

I remember reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' in high school in 1983. My family had immigrated to the U.S. three years before, and I had spent the better part of the first two years learning English. John Steinbeck's book was the first book I read in English where I had an 'Aha!' moment, namely in the famed turtle chapter.