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I'm not particularly fond of playing villains. I do want to be a working actor, and I've had to look at what was offered to me, what roles I could get, and what I could do with them. Even though I'm not drawn to putting those kinds of darker characters out there, I think it's an interesting challenge.

My effort is to slip into any role that is offered to me. The minute you go into those costumes, those grand sets, and start prepping up for the role, you become the part or at least start feeling the part.

In the beginning, when you're acting in amateur theater and off-Broadway, it was unheard of that anyone else would get your costume. And it was important to get a good costume. You put time into that.

I don't know why I always get to play these guys who have few redeeming features. But don't knock it. Villains are much more fun.

Some of the characters that I played as a kid were rebellious teenagers, and people would see those performances and project a particular image onto me. And 90 percent of the time, I would do everything I could to live up to that sort of image and be that individual.

I generally play villains once every three or four years by choice because I get offered villainous roles a lot, because of the way I look and whatever. And I tend to avoid them because I think you can end up in a cul-de-sac of your own making if you're cast in that.

I've had some marvelous parts, but I'm also asked to play characters who are kind of superficial people.

I think if you do something effectively whether you're the lover or the comic or the action guy or the villain like I play; movies are very expensive to make. Chances are you'll get asked to play that part again.

A lot of acting requires you to be a charming version of yourself. A lot of what happens in the industry is that you are cast based on other things that people have seen you do, or how you are perceived to look or sound. If everyone thinks you're bizarre and creepy, then you play bad guys.

You have to like the characters you play.