My time in Moscowmade a man of memade me an artistthere was a reality and a brutality of life that I think was very important, as a young American, for me to see.
Jon BernthalI did come to L.A. to try to get on TV and get in front of a camera, so I could have a stage career in New York.
Jon BernthalI come from athletics and I have a pretty big boxing background, so I never really shy away or get nervous about the physical rigors of filmmaking.
Jon BernthalI wanted to be kicked and hit and bruised up and beaten. It became something that was an absolutely necessary part of every day for me.
Jon BernthalI think that for a lot of actors - especially American actors - to get line readings and to be told and have your director literally act out the part for you is sort of discouraging in a way. It's a very Eastern European thing to do - a lot of directors that I worked with in Russia did that as well. And, I never took that as an insult, as many actors tend to do. To me, I think it's just offering a certain energy - offering their flavor - and, instead of trying to sort of decode and communicate it to you, they just show you their flavor of what it should be.
Jon Bernthal