Acting for me sometimes is taking whatever personal experiences I have and try to apply that [to a role].

Chicago PD has a rule that if you work in Chicago you have to live in Chicago. Some areas don't have that rule.So oftentimes you get people from different environments that get thrown into environments with people that they never spent time with before in they life. On a daily basis or in their personal life. The only access they had to these type of people was through the media.

As an actor, you never want to feel like a tool. You never want to feel like, "Hey, just come here, say this, stop here, look this way," and that's it. You want to have a little input.

As I grow and get older, mature a bit, and work on my big boy voice a little bit, I definitely want to direct.

I think it's just easier for people to put you in a box or a lane because you look similar. I think that's unfair for anybody in any situation.

Now I like to think that I'm in my character's head so much that I don't have to substitute. I'm in the moment; I'm living in the moment. And if it's genuine, it's real, and if it comes out it comes out.

ESPN Zone was probably the coolest thing I could do [making "Hardball"]. But Navy Pier was the other thing. I'd take my bicycle and ride down to Navy Pier and just hang out. Try to get a phone number or something. That was my thing.