I wasn't really interested in doing anything except going from pilot season to pilot season and sowing my oats in the months between and telling my agency to stop sending me movie scripts, because they'd pile up in my house and make me feel guilty because I had to read them.
You read a lot of pilots during pilot season, and not all of them really grab you.
A good script is like a work of art in itself. I've read hundreds of scripts, and good ones are very rare. If the writer has something to say, and a voice, and a plot that matches character, and an emotional trajectory that works, then I'd be an idiot to fool around with it. It's just that few scripts ever are like that.
I've read a hundred fantastic scripts that didn't pan out as films, and I completely put that on the directors. I've also read some mediocre scripts that have ended up being amazing, and I credit that to the directors. They're the storytellers. If you don't have a good storyteller, you really have nothing.
Pilot season's such a strange time. You get such a concentrated amount of scripts. A lot of them become white noise after a while. When something really pops, it becomes apparent very quickly. I'm quite instinctive about that. I know, normally by about 10 pages in, whether I want to do something or not.
Pilot season isn't perfect, and it certainly is a very difficult time. But pilot season does work for us.
I'd never properly done pilot season in America. I did it for just a couple of weeks, a couple of years ago. Usually, you get pilot scripts and the initial script quality isn't there.
I was really surprised to see how critical the Malayali audiences are. It is really overwhelming that people genuinely want good scripts and do not miss a chance to applaud good scripts.
A lot of actors choose parts by the scripts, but I don't trust reading the scripts that much. I try to get some friends together and read a script aloud. Sometimes I read scripts and record them and play them back to see if there's a movie. It's very evocative; it's like a first cut because you hear 'She walked to the door,' and you visualize all these things. 'She opens the door' . . . because you read the stage directions, too.
Pilot season is always crazy because you audition for a million things, and really, in the end, it's not up to you.
Oftentimes, you read these pilot scripts that come through for American work, and they don't sing to you. I've got to be honest, not many of them ignite the flame or give you that burning feeling of, 'Oh, God, I really want to be a part of this.'
When I choose projects, I don't stipulate between film or theatre or television. I receive scripts and I read scripts - and when I read a script that's good, I then get married to it and talk to my agent about what happens next.
I said publicly last year that I wanted 2012 to be a great season, not just a good season. We certainly had a very good season and perhaps exceeded a few expectations. But Broncos fans, you and I know what a great season looks like.
If I get good films, I would definitely do them. But most of the stuff that I get is not good at all. They were not good scripts.
As an actor, and as you get to a certain level... and it's pilot season and you read the trades, you could have a nervous breakdown. 'So-and-so's signed for a pilot. Why aren't I?'
Oftentimes, you read these pilot scripts that come through for American work, and they dont sing to you. Ive got to be honest, not many of them ignite the flame or give you that burning feeling of, Oh, God, I really want to be a part of this.