“It’s bad writing, however naturalistic it’s written, that’s where you have to do your best acting.”

If I don’t direct a movie at some point, I’ve failed personally.

My best jokes are so cheap. All I do is say things sarcastically.

I worry that I can come off smarmy. I wonder if I was listening to myself if I’d want to kick my own ass.

Really, as long as I am working and have diversity, I am happy.

And in a world without heroes, as the movie trailer voice-over guy might say, the slightly awkward can be slightly cool.

I like great directors who are scarce. Prolific ones are nice too but for me, there’s something about the scarcity that makes it all the more valuable.

Most of the time, my favorite drama has comedy in it as well. I think most good dramas have comedy in there. And all of the dramatic actors I look up to are also very funny.

I have been in teen shows for years, so doing that stuff – kissing – is kind of commonplace and not a big deal. It was way more cool just because it was Meg Ryan.

I am super-proud to have a sort of famous character in my background that if you’re a certain age, he was probably a part of your youth. I think that’s pretty cool.

I do think that sometimes you can invent more palatable or digestible reasons versions or reasons, when perhaps you don’t want to admit the truth to yourself, and sometimes we deceive ourselves – along with others – about our reasons and motives.

Welcome to a life of insecurity and paralyzing self-doubt.

I wish I came from a more pure place. I don’t have something to say from the bottom of my soul. I just know how to take stuff I like and repackage it in a slightly different way.

Transitioning to being an unemployed film actor is different, but it’s fun and I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.

I started a band [Big Japan] for fun. These sticks break easily, but they feel good.

I like to always have humour in whatever I do.

It’s very important to me to love what I do. It was important to me to find a career that I truly enjoy. You can find something that sort of excites you, that’s half the battle of life.

I think the performances that really communicate with me are the ones where I don’t feel like I’m watching someone and thinking: “They’re doing some really good acting.”

Very early on in this process though I studied acting in high school and college, soon after graduation,

My family was very supportive of my acting.

Now, I take my fees in cash, for acting, and keep the distribution thing separate.

Earlier, I used to charge territories instead of my fees as an actor, but I realised it was better to keep the two apart.

I wanted to be more hands on. Otherwise, every time you finish acting in a movie you have to almost go and beg people for the next job.

Modelling is only about the look. In acting, it’s the feel that matters.

Everything about acting drives me and gives me the need to really try it. It’s an evolution – doing the same thing for 12 years is kind of a chunk.