I'm undefeated in Scrabble. I can figure out an opponent's strategy and mold mine to offset theirs. I play a couple times a week, and I'll often play a game on my bed by myself against myself, which I realize sounds completely mad.
I got in trouble with the police, and that was a rude awakening. That was it. I'd seen the bottom of the pit, and it was time to scrape myself out of it.
Fortunately, for the first 20 years in my career, I didn't have any other responsibilities outside of myself. I didn't have a wife and kids, so I could afford to sort of barely scrape by, to do theater.
I was able to support myself by acting alone about six years ago. Until then, I was just scraping by.
I was a pretty scrappy, tough kid; I got in all sorts of fights at school. I defended myself - boys didn't mess with me. But as one of seven children, you have to fight for everything anyway.
I wasn't known as a neighborhood tough or anything like that. But yeah, I was, like, a scrappy kid. You know, I kind of kept to myself, you know?
I worked for a couple of screamers in my early days in Hollywood. I don't like being screamed at, and I am not myself a screamer.
I know what that tastes like, to be a rock-and-roll star - to have a limousine, to have girls screaming when they see you, girls trying to cut my hair, get a piece of me. But I don't walk around with a concept of myself as a rock-and-roll star, and certainly not as a musician, because I really can't play anything, except primitively.
I seem to get into situations that make people laugh, but I don't consider myself that funny of a person. I'm not witty. I'm kind of slow in conversations. I'm not that articulate with jokes. The first time I made stuff and screened it for an audience, I was surprised what people were laughing at.
I'm not going to go to the local theater to spend $12... when I can get a screening copy of a film. I don't get screeners myself, but I can borrow from my friends or go to their house to watch.
And I laugh at myself when I screw things up, which happens all the time.
The way I approach this thing, when I started to get my head screwed on straight and really trying to make something of myself as an artist, when I was 19 or 20, it became more about function for me. Like, what is this song doing to you? What is the function of this type of artform? What is it doing?
When I decided to become a Christian and decided to change my life and just totally quit screwing up, it was like, 'Wow, why didn't I do this before?' No hiding anything. I just felt so much better, not only about myself, but my future, my family. It was awesome, and it didn't take me long to realize that.
When I write for 'n+1,' I begin by doing a lot of reading, to try to convince myself I'm not stupid. Then I scribble down a paragraph here, a paragraph there, when a notion strikes. Then I see if I can arrange those notions in a way that yields an argument.
It's rare that I read a script, and I immediately go, 'This is perfect. I can see myself in this.'
I myself have been scrutinized by militarized police, but I know officers who actually handle themselves in a certain way that makes me feel safe.
I enjoy challenging myself to try new things, going outdoors, scuba diving, running a marathon. Anything that I have never done before, I enjoy trying it out.
I seek out things that terrify me, like an improv class. I'm terrified of sharks, but I scuba dive. I'm not good at auditioning, but I force myself to do it all the time. I've never met anybody who is fearless, but the more you push against your own boundaries, the easier it becomes to push.
I paint and sculpt to get a grip on reality... to protect myself.
You find me at work; excuse the dust on my blouse. I sculpt my marble myself.
