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Actors are an insecure breed. It's hard to have your career depend upon other people's opinions of what you do.

Some of the greatest actors on the planet are the most insecure people. Now I don't know if that insecurity necessarily equates to a lack of confidence. Some people are just very shy individuals. You give them a character to play and a script, and you put them in front of a camera or on a stage, and they just go.

The problem with being an actor is that you have to be reactive to what other people want.

I think as an actor, you're constantly putting yourself out there, and a lot of times failing - and failing in front of a bunch of people - and sometimes you have a good moment and something clicks.

You are exposing yourself all the time as an actor. There's the risk of being thought of as bad or boring or unattractive.

The minute you start making calculations about what people will think of you as a person based on your work as an actor, you're on the road to becoming a bad one.

People say that one of the most important things about being an actor is to have thick skin, but I don't think that's it. Because you can't just walk around being tough, you have to be able to be vulnerable to do this. So really, it's about not being defensive.

I think naturally, if you're an actor, there's a high level of assertiveness that you need to have to survive this business. There's boldness in being assertive, and there's strength and confidence.

So many actors get caught up in their technique, and to be honest, I see it really getting in the way. I see them forcing things. I definitely do my best work when I'm free of that. But I think as an actor, I work really hard in preparing the roles.

The hardest thing about being an actor, for me, is that if you are the 0.00001% of individuals who wants to do it, you're a freak. And you're an assertive freak. Though actors are often shy, there's this tremendous assertive extroversion in you somewhere.