Quotes

[on working with R. Lee Ermey] "R. Lee's great. I've learned a lot from working with him. He's a tremendous actor, and he brings so much to the character and so much to the set. And we're very fortunate, 'cause he's one of those guys who actually, when he comes to the set in the morning, he just wants to make the scene the best it can possibly be, and he figures all that stuff out. And those are my favorite kind of people to work with. I've really enjoyed it. He's thoroughly entertaining and really does different stuff every take, and just really embodies the character".

[on auditioning for his role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)] "I'm a New York actor, so I heard about the project, and I put myself on tape twice from New York. And they said they were interested in me, so I flew myself out to L.A. to test for it with Michael Bay. And a great thing about this movie and, another way I think it's unique, is that there is more exposition. You really get to know the protagonists of this movie a lot more in the beginning and, hopefully, invest in them somehow so that, when bad things go happen to them, you really care. And I think that Michael Bay just wanted to make sure - there wasn't a lot of screaming and yelling. I think they could figure out from the scenes whether or not you could pull that off. I think he wanted to just see more of whether or not I understood the character's duality - how he could be a nice guy with his girlfriend, but how ultimately he is this military guy who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders".

It was an amazing experience, I think the last time I sang on stage was 10 years ago.

I just do my work and live my life. There's always that volume knob of people's voices and speculation. But I found you can turn it as low as you want. I have a great family and people in my life. I don't focus on other parts of the business.

I'd inhabit a character until I saw another one. That accessed part of my imagination.

I wanted to go to Northwestern and become a serious journalist, but I think there was some divine hand leading another way.

So many things are zeitgeist dependent, it's how they're marketed, what kind of love they're given, who's in control.

Sometimes shows appear before their time. As an actor, all you can control is what you do.

I get to leave the nest and do things here and there.

That gives me some variety so I'm not pigeon-holed as con artists and swindlers.

They rightfully believe the trade-off is you and your show get publicity.

I'm a creature of comfort. When I'm around the house, it's jeans, T-shirts, old jackets.

I feel comfortable in old clothes, anything that has gotten me through a traumatic experience I hold on to.

I've never cared about how successful or how big I was going to be. I just wanted to be part of a story that affected people, made them laugh or cry. To me, that was more important than having my face on some billboard.

When you are singing Journey, you have to commit.

[on performing in Magic Mike (2012)] It was like a stripper boot camp. We embarrassed ourselves in our own rehearsal room. But the best part of it was that it became this ensemble-building experience. We all knew we were terrified, but we manned up together to get it done.

[on playing "Felix" in The Normal Heart (2014)] It was a gift to get to play a gay role that was written in a three-dimensional human way. You read so many things that are these stereotypes that I find offensive.

[on the film version of The Normal Heart (2014)] I think that this movie will be incredibly powerful and influential for many generations. I think it's gonna be therapeutic for one generation. I think it's going to be clarifying for my generation who came onto the scene going, 'What happened here?' This is like we're dealing with war widows, but nobody knew there was a war going on.

[on being introduced to the plays of Bertolt Brecht, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Miller in high school] I think growing up in the suburbs can be this safe haven where you're sheltered from a lot of things. Obviously there's a shadow that comes with that, but I wanted to know about my world and I don't think I would have had I not been able to read those plays. It certainly wasn't going to be from reading 'Jane Eyre' in English class.

[on The Normal Heart (2014)] There was a moment when Mark [Ruffalo] and I just held on to each other and sobbed for a good 15 minutes. Not because of anything we had done but because we were a part of this story that was so much bigger than us, and because we knew that this was how a generation of people had to say goodbye to each other. Taking in the gravity of that moment was really overwhelming. It was just one of those things you don't ever forget.

One thing I hope that the younger generation will take from watching [The Normal Heart (2014)] is how much we owe to these people who banded together when it was not an easy thing to do. I wouldn't be able to call Simon my husband if it weren't for these people... To get to tell the story is a gift, and something I feel that I owe to them.

[on his role in The Normal Heart (2014)] I don't want to let go of Felix. Usually by the time I'm done [with a role], I'm like, 'OK, let's close that chapter and move on,' but I don't want to let go of him because I think he changed me for the better. I grew from getting to play him.

I feel like I learn more from our kids than I could ever hope to teach them. I love the rare quiet moment of spoken or unspoken love at the end of a great day, and knowing that no matter what, you will always be there for each other.

[February 2012, accepting an honor at the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards] I'd really especially like to thank my beautiful family: Simon, Kit, Walker, Henry. Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is. You will always be my proudest accomplishment.

[January 2010] I don't care about that [gay rumors] at all. I'm completely happy and fulfilled in my personal life. I have a network and a show riding on my shoulders. I would say a big difference between my character and me is that I can be too trusting. And I've realized in this business that's not necessarily the smartest thing to be. I definitely have a thing or two to learn from the con artists.

[October 2012] When I was in high school, there was no safe haven, there was no outlet for you to speak your mind. So I did what any self-preserving 14-year-old would do - I signed up for the school play and also the football team to cover my tracks. When that happens, when you aren't allowed to speak about who you are, one of the most authentic parts of who you are, which is who you love or who you're attracted to, feels invisible. GLSEN gives visibility and authenticity to kids all across the country. Having kids teaches you so many things, and one of the things we both have learned in our parenting journey is how loving and accepting and open children's minds and hearts are. Unfortunately, in some parts of the country, some kids are taught at an early age that being different is somehow bad or wrong or worthy of ridicule... Kids aren't born to be bullies, they're taught to be bullies.

I don't want to ever do a movie now [if] I haven't done a full Broadway run of the material beforehand.

[on The Last Tycoon (2016)] It was really a dream come true. It's definitely a humbling task for anyone, I think, to interpret any of Fitzgerald's characters or work, but it was a real honor to be asked to play the role, for sure. A big part of it was researching Irving Thalberg, and of course revisiting the novel. The character was largely based on Mr Thalberg, because Mr Fitzgerald used to work for him. He wrote underneath him at the studio system for a brief period, and was really inspired by this man who had a complete understanding of the studio system, and how that operated, and the fact that he was this young wunderkind, this genius at what he did. Then, Billy Ray opened up this incredible world in a way that you're allowed to do when you have 10 episodes or so; to really open up a world, and bring in new storylines and amp up other storylines, and lose some of the ones that don't serve the medium. I lost about 25 pounds to play the role, because Monroe, in the novel, is described as a very ascetic, very hyper-disciplined individual who doesn't eat, really, during the week, and looks as though he just might be on the verge of being incredibly ill. That was something that I took really seriously. I think, at a certain point, they were like, "O.K. Stop. We want you to look nice in your double-breasted suits."

[asked whether he watched The Last Tycoon (1976) in preparation for The Last Tycoon (2016)] I did, yes. I enjoyed it. There were really great aspects of it. I mean, we're dealing with two of my favorite Hollywood icons, Elia Kazan and Robert De Niro, amongst many, many other fantastic cameos in that film. So I tried to watch that pretty early on, a few months before we started, then kind of tried to let myself forget about whether it would be useful to me.

[on being perceived as good-looking] Well, it's very hard for me to weigh in on it completely objectively because I don't think of myself in that light. I don't say that just to be faux humble. I really don't. Maybe because I was raised in a very conservative Christian household, where you were never really allowed to be sort of egotistical in that way. I don't really perceive myself that way, so it has definitely been frustrating when I've gotten that feedback, or it's limited an opportunity, or whatever I'm hearing through the grapevine. It isn't something I've experienced in theater. I think people in theater are pretty open minded and objective about the talent and what they can bring to the story they want to tell.

You can't please everybody. There's that old saying that there's no sure formula for success, but the only sure fire formula for failure is to try to please everyone. You're not going to do that.

What we really have to do is stop the adjective before the job title - whether it's 'black actor,' a 'gay actor' or 'anything actor,' Everybody thinks that equality comes from identifying people, and that's not where equality comes from. Equality comes from treating everybody the same regardless of who they are. I hope the media and the press catches on to that because it's time to move out of 1992.