That's why I love Philadelphia. I know everybody in my neighborhood, and they know me. They call me Hollywood, which is funny. I walk inside Dunkin' Donuts, and it's like Norm walking into Cheers. "Hollywood!" I like that. I like feeling that I belong to something.

How did working on your new movie, Pride, help you to discover something new about the city itself, and how do you think it reflects the spirit of Philadelphia? That's a twofold question. I learned that a large part of the city did not appreciate what had taken place there. In learning about [swim coach] Jim Ellis, I learned about the first black school that was opened there and which still stands there. It desperately needs repair. I took a couple of kids who were in the movie to Philly and walked around those places, just to discuss how important it is, this freedom that we have and our lack of use of it. We don't truly appreciate as much as we should. Secondly, what I truly learned about the city is that nobody really knows exactly what to do, but everyone has always tried to do something. It's a land where big dreams have been made and founded. Some of them took 100 or 200 years to actually come true, and some of them we're still trying to find the rainbow to. It's just a place of hope to me.

Let's move on to less weighty questions. Where do you like to chow down when you're in town? There's a place called Spring Mill Cafe that's right in Lafayette Hill. You come up Ridge Pike, go south on Joshua Road, and then you hit a little road I can't remember the name of. But it's right there. It's a 200-year-old place. Then there's Valley Green Inn, which is right in Fairmount Park and has incredible food. Spring Mill Cafe and Valley Green Inn both have a French taste to them. I've often wondered why so many places in Philly have a French taste to them, but they do.