Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I've led a career of having to take work to see my family, over picking and choosing, instead of 'I need food on the table and I don't know how I'm going to pay the mortgage.'
If you're in a small town somewhere and you can go and visit Paris, you can go to the top of Everest, that's just cool. It's worth it because you become more educated in something.
You cannot embrace the action or play the role correctly if you're having someone else do the movements for you. I want to be doing it myself, unless it's going to be a train wreck.
I'm a father, a son, and a grandson, and if anyone messed with my wife, mom, or grandmother, and if the law didn't care about it, what would I do? Would I be defined by that action?
I'm just gonna make art myself. I have a lot of ideas of things I wanna do and really talented people and friends I'm around, so we decided to make our own thing and set out to do it.
I don't want to just play the same thing. But with The Red Road, no one has ever seen me like that. No one really even knows that I smile, have a personality and have a sense of humor.
There's a lot of things I would definitely go to bat for in Hawaii. I've been all over that stuff. If someone told me to be quiet about that because of my profession, no. That's my people.
In this business, we have to travel so far away from our families. We have two children, so if we can work together, that's awesome. Before I met Lisa Bonet , it was a dream to work with her.
I'm sure all actors have trouble. The guy who always plays the funny guy, he wants to be taken seriously. And there's the action guy who wants to do serious stuff. Everyone's grass is greener.
Both my parents are artists, so that just makes me look at everything slightly different. I listened to different music; I dressed differently. So I kind of grew up without following the pack.
The reason why I wanted to direct is because there are personal stories that I want to tell, but also because I love every part of movie making - from the wardrobe to the set decoration to cinematography.
My kids are always like, 'Why do people always want to take pictures with you?' and I'm like, 'Because I'm your Dada, and you're my daughter. That's why.' It's definitely mostly because of 'Game of Thrones.'
I don't really push myself upon people. I don't have that. When it meets and things fall in line, it's meant to happen. It's happened that way. I just try to do my best and do my work, and then it falls in line.
Zack Snyder is a huge fan of 'Game of Thrones,' and I met him in the training stunt facility that I train at, and I guess he really liked me because he later called me into his office, and we talked about playing Aquaman.
As far as getting work, no one thought I spoke English. It was absolutely ridiculous. I'd show up at a meeting and they'd be like, 'Oh my God, you speak English! That's so cool.' They didn't really know what to do with me.
How far would you go to protect your family? I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm a grandson, and I'm a husband. If someone were to hurt the women in my life and the law didn't take care of it, what would I do? Pretty awful things.
I go train, and like with Conan, I'm in leather, and with Drogo, I'm in leather or armor or something else. I'm not in my adidas sweat suit or my matching tracksuit pants to go work out. I got too busy of a day. I've got my boots.
For right now, I'd like to tell stories that I want to tell. I haven't wanted to use someone else's material yet, but I would with the show. It's become an integral enough part of me now, that I could definitely tell a story in this.
When I'm acting, I wish I was out there, being a part of it and making it. It's all on your name to do that. It's your vision. You're going to get slandered for your work, and I like that. As an actor, it's so hard. I'd rather direct than act.
I don't want to play a superhero. Drogo may not be Superman, but it is a phenomenal role. I didn't want to get typecast. Drogo is an exceptional character. Conan is iconic. Whether it does good or not, you just try to elevate it to the next level.
Anyone who spends time on the road knows there's something special about being in the middle of Utah or Nebraska - you sit with it, and there's a peace about it. You can go left or right, and it opens up all kinds of doors. You take your own path.
You know what's it's changed is my appreciate for the art form of making cinema. I don't want to act as much as I want to tell stories. I want to be a part of the whole collective and pull all of the pieces together. That's what I love about directing.
I was on Stargate: Atlantis for four years, playing a similar character called Ronon, who was an alien that didn't say much and grunted. I've been there and done that. Whether people have seen it or not, you want to stretch. And then, while I waited, I got The Red Road, and I'd never gotten anything like that.
It's not that demanding. It's fun. That's one of the great things about being an actor. You get to learn all these things normal people don't get to learn. Going through hallways where it's basically like S.W.A.T. tactical stuff. Around hallways, how to cross, how to signal everyone. Then how to hold a gun, holster the gun - everything.
This is a unique legal loophole in the U.S.: If a non-native comes on a reservation and commits any crime, the non-native should be prosecuted by a federal court. Tribal law can arrest and hold someone for a year, but tribal law cannot prosecute non-natives. So since the federal courts are so overloaded, some of the cases get tossed out.
When I did play team sports, I was into soccer and hockey. I loved hockey. And then rock climbing became the thing that got me out of Iowa, and I traveled the world for rock climbing. I really loved the, I guess you would say, dirtbag lifestyle of not eating much and traveling the world and slipping into different cultures and just observing.