It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake.
When I played Robert Howard in 'The Whole Wide World', I was struggling with it. There's this dual thing where you feel real good about being able to play this juicy part, and then there's constant shame: 'Who am I to pretend to know who this guy was? Who am I to represent this guy for people who never knew him?'
The Whole Wide World is the first movie I've ever produced.
I found my niche as a character actor, and I've never felt like a movie star or teen idol and never wanted to.
It's like why people read scary books or go see scary movies. Because it creates a distance. They're scared, but they're not going to get hurt.
People who are extremely inside their head, like he was, are caught in a neurosis that goes round and round. Then something will hook them and take them to their end and they can't control it.
