Early on I realized when you write a song about someone, it flatters them on some level, and gives you a lot of room to move within a relationship. A song can kind of get the girl, for sure.
I talk to my friends and, you know, they all seem to get relationships that aren't right. You kind of want someone who is not at your beck and call but loves the idea of being in a relationship and what that entails.
I think I had a kind of pause for insight in my 20s when I wasn't in a relationship and my career wasn't going the way I wanted it to go. I had time for reflection then.
I do know that I like to play characters that are sometimes a little on the outside - that's because it feels kind of romantic and sexier to me. I really think they are the people that we learn lessons from.
I feel like in Atlanta, if you were a female dancer, the more you can dance like the boys, the more respect you get. I was thrust into that kind of dance culture, and it was in my body.
There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.
I used to think there was a scientific way to do things. Like a proper way to answer a question or that kind of stuff. It's like, there's not! There's not a method, there's not a science to it.
I didn't read comic books, growing up. I was more of a science fiction/fantasy novel guy. I loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'Tarzan' and that kind of stuff.
I have a kind of standard explanation why, which goes like this: Science fiction is one way of making sense out of a senseless world.
We should provide the meaning of the universe in the meaning of our own lives. So I think science doesn't necessarily have to get in the way of kind of spiritual fulfillment.
The process of science is difficult and challenging. It involves always being aware that your ideas might be right or they might be wrong. I think it's that kind of balance that makes science so interesting.
There's no one 'right' way of making a science fiction movie; there's no one way of making any kind of movie, really!
And by the way, I wanted to point out that Kindred is not science fiction. You'll note there's no science in it. It's a kind of grim fantasy.
If we suppose that many natural phenomena are in effect computations, the study of computer science can tell us about the kinds of natural phenomena that can occur.
My folks are economists and have taught economics and social science so I grew up with those kind of conversations around the dinner table.
When I got my PhD, it was a time when there were just no jobs for PhDs. Period. PhDs were getting the lowest paid technician jobs, if they were lucky, in any kind of science.
I get to play characters that kind of shock people and I enjoy doing that. I like characters that have meaning and get people in the heart. I want to be able to get people to cry or make people angry or sad.
I often have an argument with people. I say name me a classic song that's not sad in some kind of way. And even if you can, you'll have to search pretty far.
If you live with someone that is depressed, the truth of it - it's not that dramatic, it's just a bit, kind of, 'Here we go, this is what we're doing today. This is sad. But we're gonna get through it.'
My favorite thing in the world is a quiz show, 'University Challenge,' so you can see what kind of sad person I am.
I know I said I wanted to live forever and I would never be bored, but the reality is, it's probably kind of sad to live forever if you're the only one sticking around.
