The good thing about a film, or at least the films I've been a part of, is, no matter what happens in the end, you do the premiere and everyone's excited. You don't remember the rough times.

I was working in computers when this stranger approached me out of the blue, saying I should become an actor. I took it as a gift from God, because I had been praying for clarity about what He wanted me to do, since I wasn't happy in computers.

I can't remember ever having a conversation about the definition of consent when I was a kid. I knew that no meant no, but that's it.

How many films are there about friendships between teenagers? And how many projects are there dealing with friendships among adults? True friendships - really dealing with the intimacy behind what happened then, and how long you've known each other, and the wounds that haven't healed. That's what [About Alex] film is about.

When you're 19, getting a girl to say yes, or being a dog, or being a player, cheating. Consent is all about - for me, back then - if you can get a girl to say yes, you win.

A lot of those old ideas are dying with the people who created them, and there's this new generation of filmmaker that's saying, "We're in this together, these are issues that we all deal with, let's just present issues to screen without bias and figure out what the audience has to say about them."

I think it takes a lot of courage to be able to direct a film. If you have that courage and that vision together, and you pick the cast that you believe will achieve your vision, you win.