I like to have a much greater base and know a lot more about my character before I begin to fill the person. So a lot of it really entails sit-downs with them, determining who she is, where she came from, and why she reacts a certain way, and then I was really able to expand upon a lot of that and create a lot of that story on my own.
The most I could hope for is to come and try and develop a character who is interesting, who is interesting to me, who is interesting to fans and who could contribute to the storytelling that is 'Law & Order: SVU.'
It takes a while to establish a character. Richard Boone once told me he didn't really get the character in 'Have Gun - Will Travel' until the 16th show. You just plant a seed, water it, let the sun shine on it, and hope it blooms.
I love series television because it's so much fun to have that much opportunity to paint the character.
When you're a regular on a TV show, they give you more of a backstory, so with these recurring gigs, you have to make up your own backstory.
I know a lot of actors who get a part and then they dissect it and they want to change it and they want to add stuff. I'm always amazed and so impressed by actors who do that.
I like roles of people who can overcome things because there's strength in that and an arc - and roles where they start in one place, and toward the end of the script they end up in a completely different place, so you've seen this growth and some humanity in the role.
In theater, you're allowed to take your time and sit in a role for a month before you have to share it with anybody. In film and TV, you have to just kind of show up and be ready to do that, which, to me, is very strange and crazy.
The process of rehearsal means you learn so much and really get the chance to develop your work on a character.
It's good to be in a role when you can learn something new.
I do it when I'm a preparing for a role quite a bit - I sit with music. It helps influence the discovery of something. Then sometimes during filming I like to listen to the same things. It brings me back to a place where I just feel more creative and focused.
Just keep learning from the role and not just go for the money.
When you're creating new roles out of scratch in my opinion working with the actors is a great asset. You can learn a lot from that.
I'd already rehearsed it [ Don't Kill It script ] for the first time it was supposed to happen and the second time. That was a blessing in disguise because the character [Jebediah Woodley] grew a little bit in me.
Every role sort of teaches you how to prepare for it.
In television you don't have a lot of time to spend with the role or the script. Typically you get a script a week prior to shooting. Sometimes it's even less time, not enough time to dream about the role.
If you discover that a role isn't complex, you can speak to somebody about it and they'll help you push it when you're on set.
Usually being a young actor, you've got to go through certain levels of hierarchy, going through bit parts and extra roles and then kind of progressing up the food chain and having the size of your roles grow in that sense.
There was a lot of work that people don't know about that I did to establish my villain persona. There were a lot of miles on the road that went into it, thousands upon thousands of hours of writing on yellow pads while driving in my car with the dome light on.
If there's ever going to be a challenge for an actor, it's that character who's often evolving - which is not often the case in television.
I like a role that is challenging. That's what I look for and I'm certainly always looking to move further and maybe push myself into a place that might be temporarily uncomfortable so that I might learn something.
The loveliest roles, for me, have a growth arc - a beginning, a middle, and an end - and I'm always grateful when I can find one of those emotional journeys.
The idea of exploring character relations and their development over a decade has to be appealing for any actor who cherishes his craft.
Sometimes, as actors, we feel like we want to hold on and control where a character goes.
You know that was much more of a kind of cameo, I love the movie, I love the story, I love Johnny as a fun little role but it was more of a cameo, not anywhere near as developed as this role.
