I had started off, before I ever got an acting job, working at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions as a reader. I was always interested in that side of the camera.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Well, getting behind the camera is something I've always wanted to get involved with. Ever since I was doing movies like 'Zathura' I was very interested in all the different jobs on set and kind of soaking all the information up like a sponge.
I took myself out of the business to study film at NYU and the School of Visual Arts. I grew up on movie sets and was fascinated with the camera and behind-the-scenes work. I felt it would help my career as an actor if I knew all aspects of film.
I began to learn about the camera and the actors. That gave me a lot of the skills. At the same time, advertising gives you a lot of vices, for example, an obsession for a superficial look, but at the same time, it gives you the capacity to synthesize the story - tell a story in one minute.
I went to film school at Columbia and did that for a couple years, and really thought I was going to be a filmmaker, and then I kind of drifted over to the acting side after that.
I started missing acting when I was in school, and I realized after being in the business after however many years that I was really interested in film.
I had a background in theater as an actor, and then a photographer, and then as an experimental filmmaker and editor.
I studied directing prior to acting and I've done music videos and documentaries and things that were sort of well-received.
I started as a director and just fell upon acting.
Before I became an actor, I was a visual artist, and I've always hankered for the storytelling behind the camera.
I began by doing a lot of character work on TV, just fun acting parts.