"We have to try harder to do our best every day, challenge ourselves to better our world."
"I've learned that no matter what shape you get your body into, if you don't get your head right, you're not going to feel good about yourself."
"I was a chubby kid, an outsider, and then all of a sudden I shot up to 6 foot 2, and people started calling me handsome. I couldn't accept it; I couldn't see it."
"No amount of gym time will make you feel beautiful if you don't feel it on the inside."
"Being a young actor in the industry, I had a lot of people who strongly advised me to stay quiet. That was hard to live with. But I've never played a gay role before, and I didn't want to be limited by some strange perception."
"I want to live my life moving forward with integrity and pride."
"I really love the TV thing because it's a little of the best of all worlds. You have a sense of a family and work with the same people over the seasons."
"I did 'Christmas Carol' off and on through my teenage years, so I always had that dialect and that sound in my ear, which was so helpful. It became second nature."
"I don't know anything about being a royal child. But I have played Shakespearian kings."
"When you're the guy inside of a character and you've lived with it for almost two years, you're always a bit defensive about the character, and you want to root for the character you're playing."
"When you do a show eight times a week, you are constantly living in the same world for that whole time, but when you have such drastically different characters and circumstances, you have to find a way to take a moment to reconnect."
"Clarity is so important for Shakespeare."
"I'm from Detroit, so not exactly Buckingham Palace."
"New York has everything, so you can do anything."
"It's even hard for me to even watch myself, but that's the case with most actors. It's weird if an actor is like, 'I love watching myself.'"
"I don't really get nervous about the people I'll audition for, especially if it's people I admire and want to work with: it actually makes me more excited."
"I've been painting since I was a kid."
"I strive to destroy fear and judgment that once stifled me."
"Growing up, I was the awkward, chubby kid. I had a few close friends, but I was the first one to be bullied."
"Middle school left some scars, as I'm sure it did for many of us. When my body started to change, I felt a bit like I was living inside a stranger. People began responding to me differently, which was confusing."
"I was extremely shy, but since college, I think I have opened up and gained confidence. I find it much easier to make friends, I let myself go a bit more."
"I am a New Yorker! Mass transit is my sweet ride. I know the subway system like the back of my hand."
"Theatre is all about the process and the sense of community that is created. You have weeks of rehearsal, time to explore your character and get to know the other actors. There is opportunity to try off-the-wall ideas, to find layers and nuance over weeks. You become like a second family with your cast."
"It is exhilarating and dangerous to perform live. You are walking a tight rope in front of hundreds of people: anything could happen on stage, and whatever does, you must find a way to make it work."
"What I love about working on 'Younger' is that it combines some of my favorite elements of both theatre and film."
