Matt Bomer
When you are the avatar for the writer/director, a lot of times, I just trusted him. If he had a choice, even if it wasn't necessarily what was my first impulse, I was like, "Billy Ray has been living with this for two years before I even came on board, so I'm going with him."Collection: Years
I think Billy Ray has a lot of great stories up his sleeve. I've heard a lot of his plans for the show, should it go forward, and I think there's a lot in store for people, if it's given a chance.Collection: Thinking
I like characters with flaws, who have shadow.Collection: Character
I very comprehensively studied Irving Thalberg and his biographies. He's who [Scott] Fitzgerald roughly modeled the character after. He worked for him, as a writer, when he was at MGM. And, of course, I revisited the novel and the politics of MGM and the studio system at the time and familiarized myself with the world. There was a great deal of physical and literary work that went into it.Collection: Character
I look at a pilot and go, "I see the landscape. I see the characters. I see the direction and the potential of the story." And I also go, "That didn't work. I could change that. Maybe that works. I don't know. We'll see." For me, I look at it, as an actor, as what can I improve upon? So, to have it out there and judged solely on its own merit is really a unique experience for me.Collection: Character
In that Freak Show environment, I got to spend time with so many of the actors who were part of that world. I just had the best time ever.Collection: World
One of the many things I love about working with Ryan Murphy is that you're always thin-sliced in this business. You walk into a room and people want you to be how you look or how you're perceived or whatever it is in that 10 minutes that hey meet you. I think Ryan [Murphy] has an intuition that looks a little bit deeper and sees things that other people might not see in you - sometimes you might not even see in yourself - but that he knows are there and that he might want to get to grow and stretch with as an actor.Collection: Thinking
It's so rare, especially as a younger actor, to find a role where it's not just one-dimensional and it's not just a stock leading man.Collection: Men
For every role, I brought certain elements of the character. Even on White Collar over six years, I tried to keep the set fun and breezy and Howard Hawks-y and very of the tone of the show.Collection: Fun
What is ultimately motivating the character?Collection: Character
Forget horror icon, Kety Bates is an icon. She's an acting icon. I was raised on so many of her films, everything from Misery to Fried Green Tomatoes to Delores Claiborne, all films that I've watched multiple times and been inspired by.Collection: Icons
For me, a lot of these actors are new. For me, I only worked with Finn Whittrock and Michael Chiklis. So a lot of these actors are people I've been a huge fan of for years and are bucket-list actors for me to get to work with. It's pretty surreal now getting to step into scenes with them.You all get to find your characters together.Collection: Character
Certainly when you're dealing with more deep emotional work and sensory work, for me it helps me to just stay in it.Collection: Emotional
I think your text [script] is everything; it's what informs you; it's what gives you the given circumstances. Then you take that and you add your own creativity and your own spin on things and you make it personal. That's what makes that character and that text unique to you, when you personalize it. I think that's where your job as an actor comes in.Collection: Jobs
I think every guy and girl would love to get to play Superman, at some point in their life.Collection: Girl
If you don't like Superman, something's wrong with you!Collection: Ifs
The best experience for me at CMU was being on stage so much, getting that comfort ability and learning that technique you can use with any type of work because you’re comfortable with it and know your skill as an actor.Collection: Skills
Anybody who is rude to anyone in the service industry is automatically out.Collection: Rude
To me, when you're at a hotel and your home environment is ultimately dictated by somebody else, I always find that a little bit oppressive and scary in a way.Collection: Home
I'm a long time [Scott] Fitzgerald fan, as probably everyone in America is. And I've always been fascinated by that theme of, what is the price of the American dream and what parts of your soul do you walk away with? The conflict of art versus commerce was also very interesting to me.Collection: Dream
I’ve been a con artist since I was 16 and trying to get my dad to buy me a car. I never succeeded, but I learnt a lot of tactics.Collection: Dad
I at least felt the obligation to speak clearly [in 'The Last Tycoon']. This is pre-Brando and pre-James Dean. Nobody mumbled back then.Collection: Tycoons
I see myself working, making a living and doing projects that I'm passionate about, regardless of the medium.Collection: Passionate
When you really put your heart and soul into something, the temptation is to try to be in control of circumstances, however you can, and looking and seeing how people are responding.Collection: Heart
If youre wearing suits and you want to create your own sense of style, get to the tailor.Collection: Style
I like not to know, unless it's something that I need to know, specifically, for how I color a performance.Collection: Color
Having done television for almost 20 years now, a pilot is kind of like a rough draft. It's like bringing people into your ultrasound and hooking up to the monitor and going, "Isn't my baby beautiful?" "Yeah. I can only see the outline of it, but it looks like it might be."Collection: Beautiful
I really saw Pat Brady, Kelsey Grammer's character's point of view that it's a business. It's show business. So, it was an incredible opportunity to work with really wonderful creatives and the script was fantastic. What was so interesting to me about the studio system was that a lot of the politics that were in play then are so really relevant to today.Collection: Character
The last thing I want to do is having someone get behind a Montgomery Clift biopic, and then just do the first script that came out. Sometimes it takes a long time for these things to gestate. And I'm only going to do it if it's the right story that's told for the right reason, and that's relevant to this day and age, as much as it pays homage to who this man was. Should that happen during the time when I'm still young enough to play him, perfect. And if not, hopefully someone else will get to play him because I do think it's an incredible story.Collection: Men
Billy [Ray] is a preternatural enthusiast. He would say things to me like, "Now, let me tell you about Episode 3." I'm a big superstitious, having done television for quite some time, and I would say, "Billy, I can't wait to hear about it, but let's just stay here for right now, see what happens, and enjoy this moment.Collection: Waiting
I took movement classes that I wore my double-breasted suits to. I worked on my elocution because people spoke differently then. I was really trying to toe the line. I think that if I had spoken exactly the way that people spoke back then, it probably would have alienated people.Collection: Thinking
I had just finished reading The Day of the Locust when this piece was brought to my attention, and I was like, "How do you create art in the system, the way it is?" Looking around the studio film landscape, there are all of these great superhero movies, which is fantastic, especially for my kids, but it's hard to find real art house films in the studio system, these days.Collection: Art
If you gave your best to what you were given, at the time, it's going to play out how it's going to play out.Collection: Play
I like strong opinions – I’ll take that any day over someone who agrees with everything.Collection: Strong
I think Billy Ray has a lot of great stories up his sleeve. I’ve heard a lot of his plans for the show, should it go forward, and I think there’s a lot in store for people, if it’s given a chance.Collection: Stories