When I was acting, I was always asking abut the mechanics of filmmaking. I decided I would learn what everyone on set was doing, so I would feel less threatened.
Directing a film requires a different set of skills. It is a difficult job, and I am happy being an actor.
Shooting a movie should be fun! It's not a real job. It can be hard, but at the end of the day, we're dressing up and playing pretend.
Every big-budget film is powered by a director's vision. I blindly follow the instructions of my director, believe in him, and deliver what he exactly wants from me.
I do want to get more involved with clothing, TV shows, movies.
When I was in film institute, stage plays were compulsory part of our training.
Then I became interested in drama, and almost by accident, I drifted into film.
In my heart of hearts, I love theatre. It's the joy and terror of putting a play on, the creativity of it. It is infinitely harder than film and television and more tiring. Your performance is heightened in the way it isn't with film.
The directing is something that is incredibly satisfying to me and challenging to me because it's asking me to draw on everything I've been able to absorb over all these years of acting and having all this set experience.
In television, a sitcom is probably the closest thing to what it's like working in the theater.
In theater, you have a rehearsal period and you know just who to be.
I am the lead on NBC's 'Siberia,' and I loved that experience.
You can't direct without a good crew.
Typically, whenever you're envisioning how you're going to shoot something, you have a location or a set that you're going to build, and it's going to be built to specifications.
Making movies is about creating illusions, and they can be subtle illusions, but it's all a cumulative effect as you make these little tweaks. It kinda adds up to something, hopefully.
Acting on stage is still my favorite thing to do. And everyone who's been in musicals knows that there is nothing more fun.
People may know me from films, but theater is my first love. I did about 35 plays before I even landed my first screen role. I'm very comfortable on stage, and theater is not something you can just wing.
When I became a choreographer, I was not assisting any choreographer. I was assisting the director Mansoor Ali Khan for 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.' I was the fourth assistant director.
I've worked with Robert Altman a couple of times too.
I was stage-struck from an early age. I just loved the language. We lived quite near Stratford so I would cycle and watch the plays.
I liked working in a series, going to work every day and not having to leave town for long locations. I was producing them and building an audience.
You never know what to expect when you're a writer visiting a movie set.
Every morning when I wake up, I am grateful and happy that I come to the film set. It is home.
I never did theater. I was a theater major at USC my first year because I didn't get into the film school. I was biding my time, hoping to be accepted to film school, and I ended up transferring to UCLA my sophomore year.
I had fun doing it, but acting ain't really my thing. I am more of a production/director type. I would rather be behind the scenes and organizing and putting things together like that.
