Anything you write, even if you have to start over, is valuable. I let the story write itself through the characters.

Communication is the key, and it's one thing I had to learn-to talk to the actors. I was so involved with the visual and technical aspects that I would forget about the actors.

Trees Lounge is based on my own life. Both my parents like the movie. My father, of course, thinks it's a masterpiece.

The director I had most involvement with was Alex Rockwell. He gave me a lot of responsibility as an actor.

By nature, I think I am a pretty private person, and that is what is hard even doing interviews for films that I really love doing, because in some ways, it diminishes the experience that I had.

Really interesting things come because you don't know what the rules are, what you can and can't do.

I could never have imagined the films I've done and the people I've worked with when I was starting out; I certainly did not have a career path.