The whole reason I did a bodybuilding show was to see how far I could push my own discipline. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. When I made the switch to acting, I was able to break that down into small, measurable goals like I did with bodybuilding.

Matt McGorry

The mind is the most important part of achieving any fitness goal. Mental change always comes before physical change.

Matt McGorry

I grew up in Chelsea on 22nd Street... I am really a native New Yorker.

Matt McGorry

I got a lot of empathy from my mother growing up, and I think it prevented me from ever really just writing people off.

Matt McGorry

The way I approach any role, whether it's comedy or drama, I like to look for the truth first. I think comedy for the sake of comedy wears dull pretty quickly. You have to ground the character in reality first and allow the audience to sympathize, emphasize and be more invested.

Matt McGorry

I was the youngest member of the New York International Brotherhood of Magicians. It was me and a bunch of 60-year-old Jewish men.

Matt McGorry

I started performing when I was 9 or 10, doing magic.

Matt McGorry

I am all about the complicated ice cream. Ben & Jerry's is my go-to. I like as many things in there as possible.

Matt McGorry

As for my personal style, I like comfort a lot, like jeans and T-shirts. Having been a trainer for so long, I spend a lot of my days in tank tops, shorts, and T-shirts. Still, I do like the occasions where I get to wear suits and make that a thing.

Matt McGorry

When you're used to being at a point where you're deadlifting close to 600 pounds, getting to be 5.5 percent body fat and seeing veins in places you shouldn't see them, it kind of skews your understanding of what is normal and OK.

Matt McGorry

My character on 'Orange is the New Black' is not one that requires being absolutely shredded with 5% body fat. But I wouldn't be opposed to doing that for a role one day.

Matt McGorry

A place of freedom is the best place to have the most creativity.

Matt McGorry

At some point, you're just happy to be a working actor, but to be able to do it with people you really love and enjoy spending time with, it's just such a rare thing. You hear so many horror stories.

Matt McGorry

People who act the most arrogant often are the most insecure, and they just can't even begin to accept the possibility that they might not be as good as they think they are.

Matt McGorry

I have a background in erotic dancing, but that's mostly just - it's not professional, it's just amateur.

Matt McGorry

I never particularly thought of myself as great with girls. I can be awkward, and I have a strange sense of humor at times. But I've also been learning to try and embrace that.

Matt McGorry

There's some part of me, as an actor, that likes attention and validation, but on any given day, depending on the style and volume of it, it can be too much.

Matt McGorry

I was a personal trainer for about a decade. I competed in powerlifting, and I did a bodybuilding competition. I was heavily entrenched in the personal training world.

Matt McGorry

We need to create a society where girls and women are getting the same encouragement and support to build their careers as the boys and men are. From the start.

Matt McGorry

I'd feel weird on a show where it was a bunch of dudes that are my type. I like sticking out a little.

Matt McGorry

It's nice being liked for playing the nice guy, but it's also fun to be the funny one.

Matt McGorry