'Last Man Standing' has been an amazing treat because it is the best day job you could have because we laugh every day. It lightened me up a bit because I tend to go to some dark places.
I wanted people to know that I'm human, and I'm only successful because I've learned the hard way. I've been in so many dark places, but I got myself out.
There was a reason my first substantial role after rehab was to play a maniac whose personal story ended badly. I knew what it was like to go those dark places. I played a guy who died as a result of his abuse.
People thought the storyline and characters for 'X-Files' made it a 'dark' show, but I never saw it that way. I always thought Mulder and Scully were the light in dark places.
Some people would say comedy draws from some dark places, from your dark stuff. Life's great optimists aren't necessarily the funniest people.
I remember when I read the screenplay for 'Sicario,' I fell in love with it, but at the same time, I went, 'Oh no, not again.' I mean, I would love to fall in love with something that is more light, like a rom-com or a comedy. I would love to. Because it's very demanding to go to dark places like this.
I assumed that 'Gone Girl' would do incrementally better than 'Dark Places,' and that would be great. So the fact that it did more than that was kind of an incredibly pleasant surprise.
Everybody that writes has their own area of inquiry. And mine has always been kind of, why is it that when life can be so hard and difficult, we compound it by self-sabotage, doing terrible things? That's always been my main area of inquiry, and it does lead you to dark places.
I like dark places.
Drama asks some uncomfortable questions at times... It goes to pretty dark places.
