Every digital video player - RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, Vevo, Hulu, YouTube - all of them had different ways of getting you the video, but it was still always the same series of rectangles. The format never changed.
When I was a kid, the book that I liked the most was 'Aesop's Fables.' There was a version of it that my father read stories to us kids out of. I liked the idea of the short story format.
I'm normal. I just had a different occupation for a while, and when you're in a different occupation, you have to carry yourself a different way. Most of my art is me bringing you stories from that era of my life. My life now is kind of boring.
The more the country starts listening to music instead of consuming it in the format of music video, the more the independent music will flourish.
I guess I've always been kind of obsessed with food. I always liked drawing food, and I always liked stories - I think I probably just read somewhere that stories are better if someone's eating in them. I don't know where that came from, but it really stuck, and I always try to put food in.
Whether it's a TV show or a music video, the seed of the idea is what's driving my decisions, not the format or the outcome.
"With my desire and drive, I definitely wasn't normal. Normal people can be happy with a regular life. I was different. I felt there was more to life than plodding through a normal existence. I'd always been impressed by stories of greatness and power. I wanted to do something special, to be recognized as the best. I saw bodybuilding as the vehicle that would take me to the top, and I put all my energy into it.
My dad says that when I was two or three I used to go out dressed as a different character every day. I remember thinking it was perfectly normal to wear different coloured shoes and carry a pink umbrella. But now I've got a goddaughter of that age; I realise it's not normal at all.
I always liked doing all sorts of different things. As a kid growing up, I was always drawing and painting - always doing art. But I also loved movies and music, so as I started doing everything, I liked every aspect. It's not really that I am a control freak; it's just that is what I love.
The music video, Lil Nas X, he asked me to be in the 'Panini' music video. It was crazy. I was just listening to the song and I was like, okay, this is going to be my first music video but it was really fun.
I never liked opera growing up. I always liked chamber music or solo music even more than orchestral music.
Pop music is actually a challenging genre. Not only do you have to be artistically expressive, but you also have to do that in a very strict format. I've always liked that challenge, but it's very easy to slip into something non-creative. You just have to stay inspired all the time.
In terms of pure acting, my role model has always been Philip Seymour Hoffman; I really always loved what he did. I love what Mark Ruffalo does. When I was younger, I liked Cate Blanchett a lot. These are all actors who are given stories and allowed to carry the whole story.
In terms of negotiating a career - I've always grown up being an insider and an outsider to different worlds, across different classes and cultures, so I have always naturally liked making films or music that puts things in unexpected places.
The 'trap' sound is a sound from the city. We've always liked music with bass. We've always liked old schools with big speakers in the trunks. We like our music loud. We've always had a nightlife scene in Atlanta.
There will always be stories that require a feature-length format, and there will always be stories that will be told in short-form.