When I was a younger actor, I would try to keep it serious all day. But I have found, later on, that the lighter I am about things when I'm going to do a big scene that's dramatic and takes a lot out of you, the better off I am when I come to it.
The pressure is always stepping on stage with actors who are just so well-established. It's a scary thing. I haven't been around the block that many times, especially not on big projects. Dialogue makes things easier. When you start bouncing dialogue off of other actors, it becomes comfortable; it becomes conversational.
Oh, yeah - 'The Good Wife' was a lot of fun to do. It was a short scene I did, but Josh Charles was very nice, and Julianna Margulies was so sweet. We had a very good time.
Some of my best friends now are from drama club.
Give me meaty roles, and I'll sink my teeth into them!
I got to work with great actors like J.K. Simmons and Jenna Elfman. They were amazing.
It's all about story and character with me, and I don't care if the job is on daytime or prime time or the web. Hey, give me a good character and someone to listen, and I'll do my acting on a street corner.
I'm a firm believer that if you're nervous before you go into a scene, it means the scene is going to be good, and it means you're invested in making something special.
I've learned 90 percent of what I know from watching and listening to actors. A good leading actor is the rock of the show. Their energy and their tone really sets the groundwork for how everything is going to work. I've been lucky to deal with stars who are very giving and generous.
There's obviously some appeal in scenes for me - there's something I respond to. I keep doing those films where I put myself out there like that. I guess I look for those kinds of moments and I pride myself on being an actor who will do just about anything for a laugh - so long as it's within context of the scene in the movie and it's not gratuitous. I have to feel it'll make people laugh.
I like to act with people that know what they're doing.
What's interesting was with all the shows I did on Broadway, I was either the dance captain or the assistant choreographer - I sort of worked my way up to that kind of thing - and I always was interested in more than just the dancers and the numbers. I would always sneak into the room and watch the scene work.
For me the rehearsal period is the part I most enjoy. It's the creating of the story.
I'm not somebody who takes stuff home with them, that if I shoot a scene and I'm personally impacted for days or something. I mean it certainly is affecting and everything, but it doesn't penetrate to some deeper layer. I'm in it when I'm in it.
You can do a whole scene in acting without ever checking in to what the other guy is saying - it's not going to come off great, but you can get through the scene - whereas in improv, that's gonna be impossible.
I still approach a scene as one would approach a solo. There's nothing set or pat.
When you're on set and you professionally listen to what the other actors have to say, then the emotion is naturally evoked.
When I play characters, I like playing people who just comment on stuff, stand around and talk.
You always absorb a lot from a great actor. What you want, as an actor, no matter where you are in your career, is a partner who's going to bring everything they have to the scene.
Improv acting is not just saying the lines but connecting with the other actor.
When people embrace character, there's latzie. It's the stuffing of a scene that's not written. It's not in the stage direction and it's not in the words. When people embrace character, it informs their living, breathing moments in a scene so well.
With comedy, don't try to be funny. That's really helped me. Just say the lines as you would say them, interact with other characters, and try to make it as real as possible. It will come out funny.
I never do anything for the camera. It's my job to pretend the camera's not there. I'm never moving for the camera.
I'm always doing what I can to look for and just feel out funny things that are happening in the scene and improvise off of them.
I think every character actor at some stage likes to carry a film. It can be extremely liberating to just come in for a scene or two and do your thing. But I find it frustrating if I'm just doing little bits here and there for too long.
