Acting can be very selfish and all-consuming.
When you speak in another accent, it affects you. You can't help but be changed by it.
Just getting to the point where we are now with 'To Dust' movie - where we've raised the money, put the crew together, signed all the actors up and are going on a certain date - is one of the biggest achievements of my life. It's nice, and producing definitely helps me to use the other side of my brain. I get brain fatigue from all of the creative drive.
There's something different about an indie film than a TV show that has a huge infrastructure that's in place already for you - at least financially and in terms of distribution. Whereas an indie film is just a total dare.
You're making these movies for pennies, there's absolutely nothing to offer anybody, and they will still fight you! "There's no more back-end for him? Well he'll have your back-end! He'll take your first born child!" Producing is totally exhausting.
I don't separate Robert DeNiro's comedy from the serious stuff. The one thing I realize working with him in all of his work, is that he doesn't do anything unless something happens to him in scenes - unless something happens to make him react. He never came in with a set idea of how he was going to do it, he never came in with guns blazing. He would just show up and wait to see what happened.
Music helps define the character and is an extension of the character somehow, so that you are able to use both the songs themselves and the way that you sing them to tell something about the character and his story, as well as develop a performance style.
It's very hard to write music for a film because you're writing about somebody else's experience.
It's not your responsibility to have the bigger picture in mind. But, the downside is that then, a lot of times, you're disappointed by the movies that are made around you.
I'm a restless person. I get bored very quickly, particularly with myself. I've used acting as an escape and a way to channel my nervous energy. So I've always looked to find a role that's as different from the one before it. I need change and variety or start to feel depressed.
