I’m tough on the outside and soft on the inside […] I’m really a shy guy.
I’m a homebody, I’d rather be in the kitchen cooking than hanging out in a bar.
It’s [high school] an interesting time in your life because you’re trying to act older and mature but you really have no idea what you’re doing. You’re scared and it’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to not know completely what you want or what you should be doing and to stumble a little bit.
Every job built my career in some way or made me grow as a person or I got to meet someone great. I had one line on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but I met Will Smith and he took 20 minutes out of his day to talk to the kid with one line. To this day, I think that guy is amazing because of that.
On the WB holding deal: … They said, ‘Here’s a lot of money and don’t work for anybody else. We don’t have anything for you, so you’re going to be sitting for a while.’ That was an interesting thing.
My favorite episode is ‘Teach Me Tonight,’ the one with the car accident [Jess trashed the car Dean had remodeled for Rory.] Alexis and I were both so tired and laughing and goofing off and having fun, so it was funny for me to watch.
The Godfather 1 and 2, Goodfellas, The Matrix — those are movies I can sit down and watch over and over again,
I just try not to subscribe to the ways of celebrity. I’m not a celebrity, I’m a working actor. A lot of the events — the parties and the premieres that people go to to get noticed — I’m just not into. I’ll hang out with my friends, go see punk shows, read at home. At the same time, I have a production company, which is a lot of work.
Oh my God. Nothing against the [teen] magazines because they definitely have their purposes, but I don’t want to answer questions like “Do you have a girlfriend?” and “What is your favorite color?” Answering more adult questions is more intriguing and that’s the vibe I’d like to give off.
I’m just a person and I’m not larger than life.
I like to read, too. It’s good because Jess carries a book all the time. If it’s one I haven’t read, I’ll sit down and read between takes.
I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do anything … but I bowled like a crazy mouther.
I don’t seek attention. If anything I’d rather blend in, remain anonymous.
The kid I play, Jess, moves to town. he’s a troublemaker – he steals, drinks beer, smokes. He’s seventeen – he shouldn’t be doing any of this stuff.
I drive the thing like a granny. I’ve only gotten one ticket in that car, and it was for an illegal left-hand turn.
I’m sure I’ll find something to do. Some kind of trouble to get into.