ultimately was an opportunity to create a character who flew in the face of all of that. >> you want to know something? i've been in over my head since the day i invited joel shaw to my junior prom. he was 35 at the time. you can't always play by the rules, miles. taking risks is how i got here. >> to play murphy was just so much fun. it was so liberating and it sort of freed my inner pest. >> getting along with other people is a reflection of getting along with yourself. >> i've got your reflection right here, pal. >> i remember reading the pilot of murphy brown and i thought that was the coolest thing in the whole world that she just got out of rehab. >> during the pitch that kind of stopped everybody in their tracks. they didn't open with that. >> i havenad drink in over a month. i haven't had a cigarette in --