I never played sports or got into the whole guy camaraderie of, like, 'I love you, man! Seniors forever!' So suddenly being in the military with these guys who were under these very heightened circumstances, isolated from their families, living this very kind of Greek lifestyle, it changed my life in a really big way.
When I read for 'Girls,' I was like, 'The script says 'Handsome Carpenter,' so someone else is going to get the part. They'll have someone handsome, not me.'
I actually run a non-profit where one of the main objectives is to branch out and get a new audience for the theater. Just because the writing is so good and nothing is more effective than seeing something live and happening right in front of your face, so I definitely want to continue to pursue that.
I studied Morse code.
I can tell more about my weaknesses than my strengths.
I've got weird conflicting feelings about my generation.
I'm not an acting monk or anything. I'm not, like, the most well-adjusted actor.
The Marine Corps is some of the best acting training you could have. Having that responsibility for people's lives, suddenly time becomes a really valuable commodity and you want to make the most of it. And for acting, you just have to do the work, just keep doing it.
It's hard to kill that father-son bond.
I don't have cable. I just never watched a lot of TV.
I'm conflicted with theater in the city because you want to reach a diverse audience, and that audience doesn't typically go to the theater.
Acting is a business and a political act and a craft, but I also feel like it's a service - specifically, for a military audience.
'Girls' feels very active and stirring a conversation and controversial, and you can't really ask for more as an actor.
For me, becoming a man had a lot to do with learning communication, and I learned about that by acting.
Emphasis in the Marine Corps isn't on talking about your feelings.
I originally passed on 'Girls' because I thought TV was evil.
If I'm not doing something or working on something, I literally just sit in the room and think, which I don't think is productive. I won't go outside for days.
I mean, I did plays in high school, but I was convinced you couldn't make a living doing it.
At Juilliard, suddenly I was reading these great plays that could articulate the ways I was feeling in the Marine Corps, and that felt very therapeutic, by putting words to feelings, in a big way.
Acting, believe it or not, can get very self-involved! I feel fortunate to have been able to work on things with people who have a very specific point of view and perspective, and who feel like they're doing something very active.
