I've learned an enormous amount about the business itself, about what it takes - the stamina and the dedication and the diligence - to succeed out here... And I'm very, very thankful, and I have a wonderful career, but it's hard work... I'm very comfortable with who I am as an actor now and excited to try all kinds of things.Collection: Thankful
I'm very thankful I'm finding my way, and people are excited to bring me into roles that demand a certain complexity.Collection: Thankful
I'm realizing for the first time, your life goes on while you're trying to pursue this career. I saw my career as everything. But you have this life, too. Living your life fully, you come to know yourself better. You'll find the place for it.
'Heroes' was such a big production. When I was there in the second season, it had been expanded so much. Fans of the series will remember, and many of them were upset about it, but they had expanded so many new characters that they were actually running two different units.
The business can be frustrating. For me, Omaha is a rounding foundation. I was raised in a very faith-filled household, very hardworking. It made me aware of what privilege is. And it's a place I can go back to, spend time with nieces and nephews, celebrate the things that have nothing to do with the hubbub of Hollywood.
The acting of the '50s is really stylized, so you're not really getting a lot of authentic, everyday characterization of people.
You know that thing when you're not asleep but you're not awake, and you can't move your body? I had that kind of nightmare, and I felt like all my teeth were crumbling in my mouth. Now I have this fear of all my teeth being knocked out of my mouth somehow!
I like going to museums and stuff, but I also like going out and doing lots of physical activity like camping and hiking. I like doing stuff that I've never done before. Curiosity is a big thing. Usually it means that people are intelligent and that they want to learn stuff about the world.
When I meet a girl, I just sort of do really over-exaggerated terrible dance moves... a lot of hip movements. I get them laughing, and get them to feel pity for me, and then they like me!
In the summer after sixth grade, I took a class at St. Robert Bellarmine. My first role, I was the villain in a play, and I forgot all my lines. I think I cried my way through the performance.
I'm growing very talented at watching blood and guts on screen because I have zero emotional response.
When I was 17, I had a small part in the movie 'Election,' which shot in Omaha, Nebraska. I was really naive at the time; I really didn't know what a big deal it was.
I think... as an actor, you never want to overspeak about something because, frankly, you want people to be excited about it but still have relatively low expectations so that people will feel better about it.
Every time a film comes together, usually the studio executives come up for a day to the set. If you're out of town, they'll fly in or wherever you are - the cast, the director, the producers - all get together and have a big dinner and celebrate the fact that we're about to start shooting.
One thing I wasn't quite aware of is that when you are extremely outnumbered by a lot of girls, and they become comfortable, it is outrageous what kind of stories they tell behind closed doors.
You wake up one day and realize, 'Now, I'm a veteran.' You just wake up one day, and you're like, 'I'm 35, and I've been doing this now for 13 years.'