Did you see an immediate boost in acting opportunities after working alongside Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duvall in The Apostle in 1998? Yes and no. I remember being at the Toronto Film Festival and people whispering in my ear, “Man, this movie is going to change your life. This is it!” And then after it came out, everybody thought that I was just a local hire from Louisiana, so it didn’t do shit. [Laughs.] But when I was 29, The Shield comes along. And even then I was almost vomiting thinking, “I don’t want to get fired, please don’t let me get fired.” And the execs did want to fucking fire me after they watched the pilot! They were like, “This guy’s just fucking annoying.” I only had four words in the pilot! [Laughs.] But [creator] Shawn Ryan, unbeknownst to me, told them, “Give me one more episode with this guy.” And episode two was all Shane, my character, and Vic [Michael Chiklis]. Then they said, “Okay, never mind. He’s the guy.”
Since 2012, you’ve appeared in two Tarantino movies, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. What have you learned from him about storytelling? He’s an analog storyteller. His approach to the work is a confirmation to me that, no matter what, the story is king. And you are in the service of story regardless of how fucking difficult it is. Quentin enjoys the entire process. He brings you into the history of film and contextualizes your place in it. We are not singular in this expression, but we’re a part of one of the greatest inventions of human history.
And he is becoming increasingly more singular in his approach to making movies. Yeah, it’s him, Paul Thomas Anderson, and a few others.
Sadly, women directors are never credited with having the same impact on the craft. Yeah, and that’s fucking crazy. One of my directors on Six is Lesli Linka Glatter. She’s a baller, man. She’s on par with the best directors I’ve ever worked with. Also on the show was Kimberly Peirce. She is an artist. She’s intense. I also want to throw Gwyneth Horder Payton’s name in there. She was first AD on The Shield for six years and is now running her own shows.
From an acting perspective, what are the distinct differences you see in having a woman director? Having been raised by women, I understand them. Unless I’m in a relationship with them, and then I don’t have a clue, man. [Laughs.] But the biggest difference is their ability to process stress. They are usually more even-tempered. They are as aggressive as men when they need to be, but generally more accessible. And the ego doesn’t seem to be as prevalent. It’s a really nice energy to be around. There is just this fucking evenness to the day when a woman is at the helm, like Buddhist directors. I’ve worked with some of those, too!
