Anson Mount

The whole cable-TV original programming just changed the nature of television.

I don't go to movies for redemption - if I want that, I'll go to church!

In the last two or three decades, there's been a feminization of the man in popular media that I've never really understood.

I like being able to be a man.

It's really rare that you come across a Southern character that's not stereotyped, vilified or aggrandized.

When you're in school until you're 25 and you get out and suddenly structure is not handed to you, if you're smart you realize that you need to create structure for yourself.

I'm an enemy of exposition. I feel there's no need to overstate.

I love the long-form format of television. I love being able to develop a character, over a long period of time.

You don't need to like your protagonists.

I think all of us have a hero and a villain in us.

I don't know how to put on any tough guy pretensions.

I like science fiction. I took all the accelerated classes in school. I'm kind of a dork.

I'm a goofball.

I grew up in the South, so a huge part of our American History education revolved around the Civil War.

I can't claim I'm truly a man's man, I'm just as much of a dork and a crybaby sometimes as anybody else.

I'm not interested in the heroes or the villains. I'm interested in playing people.

Good and bad are really arbitrary words when it comes to character.

About once a year, I do these long-distance relays with some friends of mine, and it takes about 27 or 28 hours to complete it.

I love getting paid to ride a horse.

For me, acting is play. It's just play and it's playing make believe really, really well.

I think the American Western laid down a kind of subject matter that's about following your instinct or following your gut and having a sort of removed quality from your humanity. And I think Clint Eastwood helped to establish that.

I like my work to stand on its own as much as possible.

Life fundamentally does not change depending on work or fame or success.

I don't care about sympathy. I care about playing a character who's understandable and clear.

I grew up in a place where a lot of my friends had horses, so I grew up riding. But I'm not an expert.