If you had the opportunity to live your life over again, would you do anything different? Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but sometimes, our biggest mistakes make us better people.

James Brolin made his mark on both the big and small screens. The actor gained prominence for his work in films like Skyjacked (1972) and The Car (1977). On television, Brolin starred in popular programs like Marcus Welby, M.D. and Hotel.

During an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Brolin admitted that if he had the opportunity to live his career over again, he’d do more than a few things differently.

“I’d stay away from television,” Brolin said during an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Television gets in the way, it gets in everybody’s way, especially if you’ve got a hit. You have to work, but your identity gets lost in the series. Marcus Welby lasted five seasons.”

Despite the success, Brolin felt that television limited him. The actor was so put off by the medium that he rarely considered television roles.

“A lot of the scripts, after a while, I didn’t even read,” said Brolin. “They just weren’t that interesting. The characters started out different, but they became too much alike after the seventh show. In the fifth year, I sued to get out.”

At the time of the interview, Brolin was still looking for his “white whale” role that would change the trajectory of his career.

“I’ve never really had a great script or a great director,” said the actor. “There’s a form of aggressiveness necessary. It’s like in every kind of job. When you want a certain job, you don’t call the personnel manager. You call the top man and say: ‘I’m James Brolin, here’s what I do; and I do it well! People who are that aggressive do well.”