And although I'm not exactly sure what [Jim Henson] did, whatever it was really moved me.

I had never worked with puppets before so just the concept of talking to this green, grungy-lookin' rag comin' out of a trash can was totally alien to me.

My excitement about making the [puppet] team was slightly tempered by the fact that everyone who auditioned had made the team.

When I hear the art of puppetry discussed, I often feel frustrated in that it's one of those pure things that somehow becomes much less interesting when it is overdiscussed or analyzed.

One of the nice things about puppets is that it's your own hand in there. You can make it do anything you want it to.

A good character is almost always derived from an aspect of the performer's personality.

Parents are concerned that if kids see that a person operates the Muppet, an illusion will be shattered. But I think kids see us as just the people who carry their friends around.

I feel that almost everyone maintains a childlike quality throughout their adulthood. One of the nice things about the puppet form is that it has the ability to communicate with this childlike side of the audience.

Working as I do with movement of puppet creatures, I'm always struck by the feebleness of our efforts to achieve naturalistic movement. Just looking at the incredible movement of a lizard or a bird, or even the smallest insect, can be a very humbling experience.