[On returning to Israel]: "I plan on going back! I was actually going to go for a semester of my junior year for school, but it didn`t work out because of the show and other reasons."

I`ve never heard of being a musician as a backup job. But, hey, if that can happen, I say great. That works for me.

I am cousins with him. I don`t know exactly the relationship, but he`s like my mom`s cousin. . . . But I know him well. I see him a fair amount. [On Senator Joe Lieberman]

I always wanted to use my name because it`s my name. Nobody really called me Ricky. But when I was young, I would be auditioning and I would be submitted for a show and casting directors would immediately go, `Oh, that kid`s too ethnic,` just by my name, even though I look so American. As soon as I was done (with Disney), I decided to go under my name. I figured I knew enough casting directors by then.

The first thing I did was a play in Los Angeles called `Dead End` with Jeremy Sisto and Tom Everett Scott. My first film was a horror film, which I wouldn`t say is a mistake but I definitely just jumped into something that was so not what I was doing for the past few years. [On after leaving Disney]

I`ve been working on a lot of independent films. I`ve been working on a lot of bigger films that have fallen through and nothing happened. I worked on a lot of things that ended up falling through; not my fault. I`m in the middle of filming a movie called `Spring Break `83.` We filmed half of it in Louisiana and we`re now on a hiatus. We`ll finish filming it in Los Angeles at a time to be decided.

I hope we just maintain our identity, which is harder to do now. It takes more work. But I think the harder it is to do, the more rewarding it is. When I go to shul or do something with the Jewish community, I feel rewarded and get a lot out of it, and I hope we can all continue to do that. [On Jews]

I`d go to the past and visit my ancestors. I think you learn a lot about who you are when you know where you came from.

Unfortunately, I haven`t been to Israel since I was born there. I`ve made plans to go about four times, and each trip had to be cancelled for different reasons. But my goal is to go within the next year. I feel that Israel is our homeland and where our history is. It`s very important to be a part of that.

Being part of a community is important, as it helps establish who you are and who you will become. Also, it`s a great way to understand where you came from.

I play with my hair a lot when I talk. I have a lot of friends who do that, so I think I get that quirky habit from them!

I think helping people is such an amazing feeling

So basically, the whole neighborhood watched me shoot a scene in my boxers.