You know, a lot of those angry sort of Southern man characters that I've been doing are based on different people I might've had as, like, a soccer coach or as a teacher.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
You know, I'm from the South, and I wasn't interested in perpetuating a stereotypical southern character.
It's really rare that you come across a Southern character that's not stereotyped, vilified or aggrandized.
I remember when I was growing up and watching southern people depicted on television, I thought, 'Well, based on what I'm seeing, I guess I'm supposed to be stupid and racist.' It's still, sadly, the easy route for a writer to go.
I tend to play every color in the Southern rainbow, and the challenge is to make each character different so I'm not doing any generic 'Southern acting.'
My Southern heritage is a big part of who I am. I grew up around people who seemed like characters but are actual, real people. My grandmother made sure I had manners and all that stuff.
Every time I work with real Southern actors... we immediately go into white trash, and we just get along really well within one night, you know.
I think every character I've ever come up with has been based on someone or something I've known.
In my early writing, all of my characters were exactly the same person. They all spoke the same, made the same types of jokes, reacted the same, etc. I think they were all just me in disguise.
I've always gotten a positive reaction to doing African-American characters.
Very few of my characters are based on people I've known. It is too constricting.