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You went to the University of Michigan and attended one of the country’s top musical theatre programs-- now you’ve landed a co-starring role in Bones, one of the hottest fall TV shows. A lot of people trash talk “musical theater” acting-- how do you feel like your early training and experiences have prepared you for the emotionally-charged work you’ve been able to do in television and film? 

In my opinion, there’s no such thing as “musical theater acting.” Acting is acting. In my career, I’ve played a dancing polar bear in the Radio City Christmas Show, a mistress (yes, mistress) of ceremonies in Atlantic City, a rock singing apostle in Jesus Christ Superstar, a crack smoking kid who set a homeless man on fire in “100 Centre Street,” and a mental patient who enjoys being naked in public places in the Off-Broadway play “Constellations” (which no one saw because it was snowing and y’all stayed home!), and in all of these cases, my job was pretty the same: enter on cue and tell my part of the story.

I hope I don’t sound like some artsy pompous jerk, but I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. Sure, I might have to talk a bit louder onstage (though not really if I’m miked) or sing if I’m in a musical or endure heat (with menthol cough drops) if I’m in a polar bear costume or endure the cold if I’m taking my clothes off, but the job is still mostly the same to me. My 4 years at Michigan were an excellent starting point for me, a place to study acting, singing, and dancing while making the transition from high school to the “real world.” The musical theater program at Michigan allows you to study acting and singing (and dancing) without having to choose between them. And they’re a strong school academically. And it’s a fun school. (The Fab 5 was there when I was there). But my education didn’t stop when I graduated. 4 years in Michigan plus 10 years in NYC equals the training and experiences that have prepared me for the work I’m doing now.

After years in New York, you’ve just recently moved to LA-- in fact, you landed Bones during your first pilot season. What advice would you give to actors who are planning to make the move from New York to LA? Are you glad you waited as long as you did?

My general advice to aspiring actors is this: Be good. Be good at what you do. And always try to get better. And if possible, be the best. I’ve had long periods of unemployment in my career, but I’ve always spent that time working to become better at what I do. That has paid off ten fold. Literally. At one point in my career, I was getting really down about not working and so I started taking acting classes with Eric Loeb. His classes were mostly about acting in front of the camera but like I said… acting is acting. Soon after working with him, I booked a Broadway musical and then a film, and then two TV guest spots. While I’m at it, let me also say that Liz Caplan is a great frickin voice teacher and Brian O’Neill has a great book about the business of acting called… Acting as a Business. Oh yea,… and read David Mamet’s “True and False.”

Am I glad that I waited as long as I did to try LA? Ugh… I guess so. I would’ve liked to have been making this money three years ago! I suppose it all worked out for the best. I struggled for 10 years in NYC, booked a killer role in a new musical, gained confidence from acting opposite an Oscar winner for a month, and then hit the jackpot out here. And it has been like hitting the jackpot. For anything really cool to happen at any moment in your career, 400 things have to go right. And here’s the way it works: if 400 things go right, you win! If only 399 things go right, you lose. It totally sucks.

In my 10 years in NYC, I had some great experiences but nothing ever went all the way. From the very beginning, I was cast in a huge revival of BABES IN ARMS at The Guthrie Theater and it had an amazing cast- David Narona, Erin Dilly, Kristen Chenoweth, Kevin Cahoon, etc.- and we were supposed to go to Broadway and then, well, we didn’t. And on and on it goes. I got through the hellish audition process to get JCS on Broadway, but then it got some of the worst reviews ever and closed a few months later. The NY Times wrote an article saying that the production of HAIR (in which I sang the Aquarius solo) was going to Broadway, but it didn’t. I got cast in a really amazing role for a workshop of a musical of Spring Awakening directed by Michael Mayer for the Roundabout, but an actual production never came to fruition. Then there was my movie which went to Sundance but didn’t take off like we hoped it would. Oh, I could go on and on. I’ve probably blocked out some of it. Finally, with “Bones,” it appears that things are going right. Who knows how it will go from here, but a lot of things have had to go right to get this far. It’s basically impossible to get a TV series. I have been so frickin lucky it’s not even funny. And yet, when I look at my past strings of bad luck (not forgetting that I’ve blacked out some of it), I suppose I was due.

Eric as Zach Addy on the set of Bones

How did you prepare for auditions during your first pilot season?

I figured out what the scene was about and who the character was. Then I memorized the lines and auditioned. And my mantra at auditions is “Just play the scene.” Yes, I may find a moment or two to throw in one my tricks but for the most part, I try not to do anything to the scene or make it to be more than what it is. It’s just a scene. It’s not a four act opera. And I think we can tend to overanalyze stuff and put too much into an audition scene because the stakes are so high. But my mantra keeps me grounded: just play the scene. When you’re at the audition, that’s pretty much all you can do. In fact, when you have the job, that’s all you can do.

What are you learning now about the craft, working on an hour-long drama? What’s surprising about your costars, including Emily Deschanel and David Borneanaz-- do they have anything to teach you?

Oh man. These are such big questions- ones that I could answer for hours and hours. I don’t know where to start. Gosh, well, I’ve learned the basics of how its done- we work Mondays through Fridays. Each episode is shot in 8 work days. The hours are long. We can start as early as 6am on some days and go to as late as 4am on other days. I don’t go, go, go every single day, though. On average, I work about 5 or 6 of the 8 days. I have no idea how Emily and David do all 8 days. And the day after the 8th day is 1st day of the next episode. There’s no break. It’s crazy. That said, it’s pretty cool having new scenes to play every day. In theater, you rehearse for weeks and weeks and then do the same show over and over and over. Here in TV, it’s always something new. It’s pretty cool. You approach the scene, shoot it, and then it’s gone. It makes memorizing easier than you would think because you always get to let go of each scene when it’s finished. In theater, you have to prepare for knowing the whole show all at once.

But what am I learning about my craft? Gosh, I don’t know. Like I said, you play the scene. Ummm… you know, I freaked out a bit when we started shooting in July. I wanted to be well-prepared and give the absolute best performance I could give. I was constantly wondering if I was working hard enough, but in time I’ve learned to not work so hard. In preparation, I need to know what happens in the show, what my lines are, and a bit about what the hell those lines mean, but the most important thing is what you do on what they call “The Day,” that period of time between “Action” and “Cut.” A lot of actors put a lot of effort into thinking about their character and etching their backstories, but I’m starting to believe that stuff isn’t as important as its made out to be. Certainly, there can be value in that. But it’s more important that you just play the scene for what it is in the moment. And hey… in TV… the writers will be writing your backstory as they go. And ultimately THEY decide who your character is. Even in theater, I believe in letting the writing do the work. But this is especially true with TV. Considering the power the director and producers have in the editing room (they can use your reactions in any order they want to) and the power the writers have to decide what happens to your character over the course of the series, it’s best to realize that the actor’s job isn’t all that complicated: hit your mark and say the lines.

What’s surprising about Emily and David? Well, I’m amazed at their stamina. I’m not sure anything about them surprises me, per se. But I think they’re both very talented and they’re really good people. Emily is a sweetheart. I love her and she has become one of my few close friends out here. David is so professional. Works hard. Respects everyone he comes into contact with. And he’s funny. They’re both hilarious. Emily and I especially love quoting “Waiting for the Guffman” and Da Ali Show. And we sing a lot on the set, as well.

What have I learned from them? Well, David has lots of TV experience, having had his own show (“Angel”) for five years so I always pay attention to how he handles himself on the set. And I like how Emily doesn’t underplay her scenes, but she doesn’t overplay them either. She’s right there in the center and that’s where I want to be. I always search for that center. David Mamet says “Invent nothing, deny nothing.” I love that. Don’t push, don’t hold back. Easier said than done, but that’s what I strive for.

Eric & Estelle Parsons in Harold & Maude.

Your career has taken a number of leaps in the last few years. People can get-- well, envious. Have your relationships with other actors or friends changed since you “landed” the lead in the Paper Mill production of Harold and Maude, or Bones?

Hm. I’m not sure if relationships have changed because of the jobs I’ve been doing, but they’ve definitely been affected by my life being moved suddenly to another part of the country. What’s really weird is that…. everyone who is in my life here in LA on a daily basis, Emily, my other co-workers…. I knew none of these people 9 months ago. That is just crazy to me. It’s like going away to camp where you meet a whole bunch of strange people and then form life long relationships by the end of the summer. But who goes to summer camp for 9 months? I’m still adjusting to this rapid displacement. It’s so weird.. I still look around at where I am and at the people in my life now and I think to myself “Where am I? And who the hell are these people??”

Let’s talk about your years in New York. How long did you work before getting an agent, and what have your agent relationships been like?

Well, I already said a bit about my time in NYC. But agents? Hm. Well, I got an agent from my college showcase, but I still had to go to open calls, EPAs, etc. I changed agents a few times for various reasons and then, after settling on an agent that I could trust to get me out on a regular basis, I pretty much decided to stop going to open calls (though a few times, as recently as last year, I couldn’t resist). Then, after 4 years and for no good reason in my book, my agent lost interest in me. That was the best thing that ever happened in my career. Without a longstanding relationship with an agent to fall back on, I was forced to take hold of my career and move it to a new level. Three people helped me make it happen- Brian O’Neill, David Krasner, and Tonya Pinkins.

I called Brian, who wrote Acting as a Business, and asked “what do I do? How do I get a new agent?” He gave a step by step process for this. (Months later, I applied the same strategy towards getting an agent in L.A.) After interviewing with a whole bunch of agents, only one wanted to work with me. David Krasner. He understood me and believed in me. Then, I went to Tonya Pinkins’ free three hour seminar in the Equity Lounge. At that seminar, I won free admission to her three day workshop at the Public Theater. It’s called the Actorpreneur Attitude and it changed my life. I booked Harold & Maude soon after. When I began thinking about expanding the reach of my career to the West coast, I had to leave David and find an agency that worked on both coasts. During a well timed (right before Harold & Maude rehearsals began) L.A. excursion, I found my current agent- Peter Young at Don Buchwald & Associates.

An actor’s life is filled with hard choices-- should I do this show or that, should I keep this relationship, where should I put my energy? What were the toughest decisions you had to make?

Yea. I read a Louise Hay book about 10 years ago in which she talked about the destructive power of the word “should.” She talks about replacing “Should I do…” with “Do I want to do…” and replacing “I should do…” with “If I wanted to, I would do….” I love this line of thinking.

I think the tough decisions force you to figure out what you really want. Back in 1999, I took a job with Disney Cruise Line. I didn’t really want to leave NYC and put my Broadway dreams on hold, but I did it because I liked the roles and the money was good. And a job is a job, right? Well, a few weeks in, they changed the roles that I would be playing. The new roles were less desirable to me. When I threatened to quit, they offered more money, but not my original roles. This made me reconsider why I had left NYC in the first place. My dream was to be on Broadway and, regardless of what roles I was playing, I probably wasn’t going to get cast in a Broadway show while working on the cruise ship. And so I quit the job and returned home to NYC. My first audition back was for the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar. I booked it, but even if I hadn’t, at least I was putting myself in position to get what I wanted.