McCormack, who took off for New York City immediately after graduation, said that his time at Harvard, though enjoyable, did not influence his career path.

The editor of the first-year literary magazine and a writer for the Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square organization that occasionally publishes a so-called humor magazine, McCormack says his writing experiences during college simply confirmed his future plans.

"I was headed where I was headed and [Harvard] was the sweetest place to be along the way," he says.

But McCormack also says that interacting with Harvard luminaries like composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein and author Kurt Vonnegut gave him the will to succeed.

"You realize that these people are as human as you are," he says. "If they can go out and do something wonderful, then, by George, you can go out and do something wonderful."

McCormack says that although he has probably led a less conventional life than many of his fellow graduates, he has no regrets.

"Having gone to Harvard gave me license to take some big risks," he said. "It's been a real big risk to do all of this, and I'm glad I did."

The founder of his own holiday, the author of several books, and the one-time pen pal of figures as diverse as Queen Elizabeth II and Whoopi Goldberg, McCormack knows exactly what comes next.

What he really wants to do, McCormack says, is direct.

McCormack has recently been accepted to the University of California at Los Angeles film school; he and his wife will be moving from Nebraska to Los Angeles in the fall.

He says he is eager to begin directing and also has future plans to break into film as a character actor.

McCormack, who someday hopes to develop some of his novels into movies, says he has waited to go to Hollywood until the time felt right and he had paid his dues.

But now he is more than ready.

"I feel absolutely ready for the movies," McCormack says. "It's this wild feeling of sturdiness and joy, kind of a creative euphoria."

Like 25 years ago, when he was unafraid to embark on the life of a struggling actor in New York City, McCormack says he has no fear of the challenges awaiting him in Hollywood.

"I learned at Harvard to just to do what you're here to do, and love it, and the rest will follow," he says.