I think you have to be able to say no. I worked very hard to earn enough money to be able to say no. I thought that that was going to be a good thing, but actually it’s kind of a restriction in a way. Because in the past, I’d work because work begets work. You just kind of keep working but now I think I’m at a point where my management team and I have kind of strategize that you have to now pick projects that are better, and try to keep going forward. It gets hard. The only thing you can really do is try and do something different like “Radio” and other movies. If I can keep doing that, I think that it will break up the monotony and keep me unstuck. But you can’t let money drive you. You have to be able to say no. I think that’s the problem with a lot of people who get stuck in that genre. They don’t have the pride to say no to money. I’m not rich, but I’m comfortable. I’ve never needed anything. I was broke when I started and if I end broke as long as I do what I want to do, I consider myself fortunate. I may not work for two or three months but when I do work, it’s going to be what I want to do.
What’s your ultimate movie project?
This is a romantic comedy and it’s a start. I want to build off of this. I think I’ve been playing a lot of edgy characters and I like playing a character who is disturbed in some way. I think that’s always fun and more interesting. If I’m going to break it up, I want to play a romantic comedy.
Are these edgy characters close to your personality?
I think everybody has got a lot of dimensions inside of them based on past experiences. I think it happens along the way. I like taking things that have happened to me in my life and putting them into my work. I don’t think there’s been a character I’ve played that hasn’t had a part of me in it. I’m not one of those method actors who completely leaves Riley Smith’s body and becomes somebody else. I have dealt with maybe not the best circumstances in life always, but who has? No family is right, and my family was definitely not right. But I’ve taken every single thing that I’ve dealt with in my life - from parental problems and divorce and family issues - I’ve taken all those things and found a way to positively flush them out of me through a character. I think that’s the most healthy way I could do it.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
"New York Minute" Photo Gallery
"New York Minute" Trailer, Credits and Movie News
