As a young actor, Christopher Reeve once worked with Arthur Lithgow (father of John), who was at the time the artistic director of the McCarter Theater Repertory Company. One day Reeve was running around backstage before his entrance. Suddenly he turned around and found Lithgow directly behind him. "I remember him chastising me for playing such an immature game instead of preparing for my entrance," Reeve wrote. "But then he said something I will never forget: 'You may be the one in a thousand who succeeds in theater. You'd better decide what you want, because you'll probably get it.' In an instant I realized that it is a privilege to appear onstage and that while it may be fun to fool around occasionally, fun is nothing compared to the satisfaction of doing something well."
