At Murry Bergtraum High I wanted to be as different from my father as possible. So I acted out in school, I was very anti-authority.

It takes time to understand yourself, to go inside yourself and to question yourself and really take yourself to task. That's self-expression.

It's all about respect; he's looking for respect from his buddies. In the last one he just wanted to hang out, to be part of the group, but this time he wants more from his friends. And without giving the story away, he finally gets something that he has been looking for when the mini sloths kidnap him and take him to their tribal area. He gets to be the Fire King and they worship him and there is an amazing scene with a "call and response" sequence in the style of Cab Callow [the legendary American jazz singer and band leader] between him and his audience.

I had to work with Ben Mendelsohn who's one of the great actors of our time. I had a lot of scenes with him and I was thrilled to be on the set with him; I just wanted to see how we were going to play it.

It might have been really cool back in the '50s when it was less populated but I don't know.

Independent film is for actors that love to act.

I think as you mature as an actor things open up to you in a lot of ways, especially if you do work on yourself.