J. SMITH-CAMERON

People think that, when you're doing comedy, nothing means anything, that people run around and act crazy. It's quite the opposite. The stakes are life-and-death.

Actors need to learn when their character is front and center and when it's more in the background.

You go down South, and they're quirky; they have culture, and it's not uniformly true of our country. Our country has gotten a little blanded out, big sections of it. Even if you disagree with the politics, you have to appreciate the cuisine, the music, the literature.

As a child, I studied violin. My sister, who's 10 years older, was the actress in the family. I was painfully shy.

Actors need to learn when their character is front and center and when it's more in the background.

You go down South, and they're quirky; they have culture, and it's not uniformly true of our country. Our country has gotten a little blanded out, big sections of it. Even if you disagree with the politics, you have to appreciate the cuisine, the music, the literature.

As a child, I studied violin. My sister, who's 10 years older, was the actress in the family. I was painfully shy.

People think that, when you're doing comedy, nothing means anything, that people run around and act crazy. It's quite the opposite. The stakes are life-and-death.