"My fondness for the western has probably got to be included in here, but it can’t be something like Hombre, which is kind of silly. You know, I’d probably go Magnificent Seven, truthfully, if I’m going five, because seeing Charles Bronson, seeing Steve McQueen come into his own and just sit there and steal focus is kind of awesome. It’s one of those movies that has a pretty simple story, like a lot of great westerns, and I love simple storytelling. I think it’s so powerful. And I think The Magnificent Seven’s very simple storytelling and seeing that crazy group of guys – Yul Brynner, Bronson, across the board – all on horseback, sort of wondering what it was like shooting that, to me, as an actor, that always fascinates me. Knowing the amount of egos and the points in their careers when they had to shoot that movie, that, to me, as an adult, makes me put that on this list. When you watch the McQueen documentary about him, it breaks down how, whereas Paul Newman always seemed so relaxed and cool on set, McQueen was a fighter. He was an orphan who was constantly fighting for validation, you know? And they would talk about how, if you were in a scene with him, forget it. He was going to steal focus. In one scene, I think he’s reloading his gun, and it’s not even his scene, and it’s like, forget it. He wants you to just stare him in the eyes. [laughs] It’s pretty great."

"The film that sort of made me want to be an actor was Cool Hand Luke. I watched it one Sunday when I skipped church, and I was home sick, and it was on TBS, and I was about 12 or 13 years old. I had never seen a man cry like that. [SPOILER AHEAD] When Paul Newman finds out his mother’s died and he sits on the bed and plays “Plastic Jesus” on the banjo [END SPOILER], I was so fascinated by this masculine tough guy getting emotional, and that sort of started my interest in acting. Figuring out how one gets to that place, and why. And both he and Steve McQueen were the two people I first connected to or looked up to as actors."