Most of the characters I'd played were so different from me, so far from me that I had to transform.

Sometimes you have to say, "No. This is my space." If you're going to come at me, come at me respectfully, and I will respond respectfully.

Don't be a victim; if you want to make movies, make movies.

You either get better, or you don't progress.

In drama school, my greatest strength was my range. So my early career was like that: I played all kinds of different characters.

I did an Off-Broadway show that was a comedy written by Ann Meara. We were like a family, and we did that show for a year. On Oz, I did feel like the cast members were friends and there was a lot of bonding. That said, there was a lot of testosterone. Once again, it was full of really intense theater actors with this writing that was really intricate and subtle.

Growing up, I never imagined I would be an actor.