You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing what’s going to make you great. You cannot succeed without this risk of failure. You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism and you cannot love without the risk of loss.

I think people are surprised when I string two sentences together. But I had a fiercely academic upbringing.

Thinking of Plan B muddies up your chances of succeeding at Plan A.

You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing what’s going to make you great. You cannot succeed without this risk of failure. You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism and you cannot love without the risk of loss.

As an actor, I think every moment in your life is giving you a new set of tools. You’re constantly absorbing new information that you can put back onto the screen.

Knowing that I'm not a model and I'm never going to be has relieved me of the pressure of looking good. If you don't establish yourself as McDreamy then you don't have to live up to it.

In my theater days I assumed that you had to get rid of yourself to do a character well, and I don’t think I was a very good actor when I did that.