I've always known that I wanted to be an actor. My family kind of was a theatrically inclined family. My father came to New York when he was a young man to be an actor and he, over a course, was in a couple Broadway musicals. I grew up in family where theater was always part of the vocabulary. By the time I was a teenager I was just totally obsessed, and it was the only thing I could imagine myself doing.

It's always nice to have a large role, but if it's a great small part, those can be so much fun. Size is less important than quality, always.

Sometimes it's nice to think, "Oh, I can only do this one thing." Instead of feeling like, "I could theoretically, maybe, if I applied myself, could be successful in a number of different fields." That can be overwhelming. Sometimes it's nice to have this myopic vision for your life and that's the only thing you can imagine yourself doing.

I think you should identify with your character, but plenty of people like themselves and hate themselves. You just have to find out what's truthful for the person you're playing. When people talk about that, I think what they're saying is that as an actor, as Peter, you don't want to make a judgment that comes from your worldview about the character. Your judgments should be coming from the place of the character, and within that space, sure, you could love or hate yourself or whatever you think is most appropriate.

I did my friend's film - this guy Harrison Atkins who's a great filmmaker. He just makes movies with all his friends, and I think that's all what we're striving for - to feel like we're among friends and people who care about each other. I'd like to think that good work comes from that - from a sort of loving and friendly environment.

When I step back from any moment of crisis that I've ever had, I'm always struck by how humor and tragedy can kind of live in the same moment, holding hands together. How life can go from the ridiculous to the sublime to the tragic all in one breath.

I've always known that I wanted to be an actor. My family kind of was a theatrically inclined family. My father came to New York when he was a young man to be an actor and he, over a course, was in a couple Broadway musicals. I grew up in family where theater was always part of the vocabulary. By the time I was a teenager I was just totally obsessed, and it was the only thing I could imagine myself doing.