There's this common perception that having a famous last name is all you need. A surname may get you a meeting, but if there's no talent you won't get the part.

Whatever our history, whatever the root of our surnames, we remain a good and decent people, and we do not bow down and we do not give up. The fire of the human spirit cannot be quenched by bomb blasts or body counts. Cannot be intimidated forever into silence or drowned by tears. We have endured worse before. We will bear this burden and all that come hereafter because that's what ordinary men and women do. No matter what. This has not made us weaker. It has only made us stronger.

The creations of a great writer are little more than the moods and passions of his own heart given surnames and Christian names and sent to walk the earth.

There's this common perception that having a famous last name is all you need. A surname may get you a meeting but if there's no talent you won't get the part.

I was advised by an American agent when I was about 19 to change my surname.