Of course I would never compare myself to someone who actually went through a war, but I definitely matured shooting 'The Pacific.' I'm more calm and I have more patience.

Not long after 'The Pacific,' I began shooting the comedy 'Larry Crowne,' which was also with Tom Hanks, who also directed and plays the title character.

I'm just trying to play against ethnicity. I got to play a guy from Louisiana in 'The Pacific' named Merriell Shelton, and now I'm playing Elliot Alderman.

I always loved Hanks in 'Philadelphia' and 'Forrest Gump' and watching how versatile he was. That shaped my impression of what someone was able to do. Of course, everything De Niro came up with was always something I was taken by.

I would say 'The Master' was one of the most inspiring things I've ever got to work on.

Every guy should be the owner of a really nice pen. When you put your thoughts down, or whenever you're going to share something with someone, it means something if it bleeds out in a nice ink.