In my movie work, if I do one guy, the next guy I do, I want to do something kind of different. Even in terms of genre - it's really great to mix it up a little.
Usually, I end up looking for something completely different to who I last played. But there is just a spark that's lit when I read a script or character I want to play.
Anytime you have an opportunity as an actor to really grow along with your character, I think that's a real gift.
I started getting more in tune with who I am by doing roles or even just being in a class and being around people.
Very rarely do actors, even with features, get to live with a part for that long and really dig into it.
It's exciting to play someone who is a bit tougher than I am. I liked feeling those adjustments.
What happens is things come to you - director, script - and if you respond to it, it's because it's tapping into some part of what's inside you, and different roles tap into different parts.
As an actor, I would call it a role where you get to stretch out a bit.
If I don't try and bring variety in my appearances, I will get bored with films, so I can well imagine how bored the audience would get watching me.
I want to stretch myself as an actor.
I am aware of my film habits because I have for so long played guys who are darker or dealing with very complex issues, and they're dealing with their darker sides.
As an actor, you're always playing different people, so you yourself are always kind of going through an identity crisis.
'Friday Night Lights' was kind of like my college years because I did four seasons of that. It was my first series. It was the most time I had with one character, and kind of growing and evolving with the character over that long of a span of time, it just allows you to sort of learn in a completely different way that I had never experienced.
I have played various kinds of roles. There are various territories that I have explored as an actor.
I will try to bring variety in my roles.
Every time I get a role, or the opportunity to explore a role, I look at it, and I think, 'What is the story we're trying to tell here?'
I don't want to do romantic roles where I have to lip sync to a song. A role that explores romance on a new level would suit me.
I am open to them. If I come across something interesting, and I think it suits me, I may do a horror movie.
I have done comedy and romance. So I thought why not try negative roles too.
I think it's necessary to identify with anything - with any character you play, there's got to be something in common, so you can link up to that person, even if it's like one tiny thing. But it's equally fun to play somebody completely different, and trying to find what that thing is to make it.
Normally, I rely heavily on my director to massage me out of my actor comfort zones.
I have tried girl-next-door. I have done the role of a corporate woman. A love story is something that I would like to work on.
For me, if I'm completely honest, I've always loved playing Captain Hook, also because I've gotten a chance to play so many different variations of him, so I haven't just been playing the same guy day in, day out.
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.
To experiment different kinds of roles always works well.
