There's no hero without a villain.
Mark Pellegrino
Everyone has monsters and demons within themselves. They're metaphors for the human condition.
'Star Trek' was a big thing for me. I kind of grew up with that. And 'Twilight Zone' is one of my all-time favorite shows. In fact me and Sam Witwer from 'Being Human' sit down and have marathons to get our little 'Twilight Zone' fix.
I think what draws people into 'Supernatural' is that when all is said and done, and the ash from the various apocalypses settle, it's about the brothers. Even though there's cool fights in this and cool special effects, and there's superheroes... in the end, it is about family. Two families: the family by blood and family by choice.
My wife and I are connoisseurs of films but in opposite directions. She's a connoisseur of really good, classy foreign films. I'm a connoisseur of really bad, cheesy horror movies - so-bad-it's-good horror movies.
I hope maybe 'The Returned,' in some small way, can contribute to the argument of the poignancy of human life and make people not take for granted things.
What's great about Vasquez Rocks is that they filmed several 'Star Trek' episodes there.
I've been going to 'Supernatural' conventions, so they tend to be big 'Lost' fans and big 'Supernatural' fans, but it's usually for both of those. Walking on the street, people are really, really into 'Lost.' But on the conventions circuit, it's Lucifer.
I try to find the human element in the character's problem. And often, it is; even if the struggle is grand and on a worldwide scale, the problem is very personal.
There's a lot of speculation on what the zombie apocalypse thing means. I have a feeling that it's kind of an expression of our subconscious fears. I think we know that something big and impossible - some enormous crash, equalizing crash, whatever - may be coming around the corner.
Without the villain, the hero sits at home on his couch.
My wife turns me onto shows. I do end up watching them. She has to drag me in there, and when she does, I enjoy it. 'Glee' was one of those things for the first year, especially - I got into that. I would sit down with a glass of wine and get into that. I even have a 'Glee' CD in my car.
The great thing about Satan is it's kind of like Hamlet. Everyone puts their own signature on it in a way, whether it's Al Pacino or little old me.
For me, teaching helps to reaffirm the right principles and values of acting. It helps me focus on the good stuff that can be easy to lose sight of because the business is so result-oriented.
I love emotional, intense stuff; it's easier to grab onto than just being simple. Being simple and relaxed can be the hardest thing. It can be easier to get your hooks into something big.
I like everything, jazz and classical, and all over the spectrum.
Not to disparage anything, but most vampire stories tend to be romance novels that are 'Twilight'-ish with metrosexual guys.
I do like sci-fi, and I do like horror - those are my favorite genres. Good horror, though, not like slasher horror... psychological horror like 'The Shining' - really good stuff!
The great thing I like about the sci-fi genre is there's a lot of different latitude for a lot of different kinds of behavior. You can be a very larger-than-life villain, or a very naturalistic villain, and all of it seems to fit.
I do like the zombie movies quite a bit. I know there are purist zombie guys that don't like the running zombies, but I dig the infected thing. I think that's a scarier incorporation of an element into the genre.
We kind of have an ingrained, parasitic society. We kind of think it's okay to eat your neighbor.
Growing up, I used to watch 'Happy Days,' 'Laverne & Shirley,' 'All in the Family.' Those were the shows I watched growing up with my family. And, believe it or not, 'McMillan and Wife' and 'Columbo.'
I kind of got really, really into 'Hill Street Blues' when it came out. I used to leave a class early just to make sure I could watch the episode of 'Hill Street Blues' that day.
I get recognized often, but they don't treat me like a god. It would be nice if they did, I think.
You can't get any more evil than Iago or Richard III. Those guys are bad.
I have a little Honda Del Sol that I just refuse to get rid of.
Sandy Meisner would say it takes 20 years to make an actor. Some people it takes five, some people 30. And you have to have patience and forgiveness for yourself. It's hard when you see people at your age or younger becoming successful.
I think L.A. actors don't have much continuity, so you kind of have to force the issue by doing plays and putting up scenes and staying in class.
I've done projects where I've read 25 books and did all kinds of journal and character work for hours.
Unless the character is suffering from tremendous self doubt or pangs of conscience, you have to get morally behind the character and their values.
I always approach any character I do as being right.
I've always been a huge supporter of the only democracy in the Middle East.
In my opinion, Hollywood doesn't know the context. Hollywood sees a David and Goliath story with Israel being cast in the role of Goliath, as the evil aggressor. The Palestinians are simply innocent reactors to whatever Israelis are throwing at them. And everything - like their economic situation - excuses the savagery.
I believe that much of Hollywood is confused about Israel.
Israel is a force of good in the world.
What we get in the States is a pro-Palestinian point of view.
I feel like I've lived four or five lifetimes.
Villains have to be passionate enough to say to themselves, 'I will do anything.' It's a certain type of personality that in life, for me, is not the way I live. Because you can't live in a society that way.
With any role I play, I find out what the human problem is first.
Each of my roles affects different dimensions of my life.
Evolutionary science kind of bears that out: When species are rivals and competing for space and resources, the superior one wins. Nature has no compunction about that; it just is.
