A strange thing happens to me that I'm sure happens to a lot of actors when the camera starts rolling. I'm not 'me' any more.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I am in front of the camera or on stage, I am not me.
When I watch a film I get swept away. I don't really watch the camera.
I'm constantly trying to find something that's different from me, whereas some actors do the same thing, again and again. That's not for me.
As an actor, the first thing you're taught is, 'Don't look into the camera; ignore it.'
Maybe that's my lot in life as an actor, to be the guy who gets crapped on everywhere he goes. Oh God.
When I'm on an adult set and I'm in a scene, I am myself. I'm not acting. I am playing to the camera, definitely, but I am myself.
When I was on 'SNL,' I was getting weirdly anxious about being on camera, which I had never really done before. And so my solution was just to not watch my stuff. And then I found out that other actors do it, too, and I felt less weird about it.
When I watch myself on camera, in any capacity - being interviewed, performing, 20 years ago or yesterday - there's a part of me that really doesn't grasp that it's me.
So many actors are not open in front of the camera - they have a persona.
I feel very, very grateful. I'm a lucky guy, you need a lot of luck, and then when the cameras roll, you have to have this group of writers, directors, and actors that just gel, and it seems to literally be happening more and more.