The Power of "Screw-It" | A Bit of Optimism

1 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:29

In this interview-style conversation, the speakers explore what enables some actors to sustain multi‑decade careers while others fade quickly. Speaker B attributes longevity to taking risks, positioning oneself for luck, and maintaining a "fuck‑its" attitude that disregards industry stigma. He recounts his own experience moving from movies to television during his work on The West Wing, noting that at the time TV was seen as a defeat for film actors, but his willingness to ignore that perception helped break the stigma. Both speakers discuss the importance of curiosity and a willingness to try new formats—such as podcasts and memoir writing—despite external expectations that these ventures are only for those whose primary careers are over or who need money. The overall message is that a resilient, open‑minded mindset combined with risk‑taking and disregard for judgment fuels career durability and creative expansion.

Was there a strategy to remain current? What is it that makes one actor be able to survive for decades and another actor be a blip in time, no fault of their own, just like they're super hot for a while and then they're just not?
It's like anything else. You put yourself in a position to get lucky, right? I've always been a risk-taker, and so if something's interesting to me, I'll do it. For example, when I did The West Wing, that was at a time when If you had come from movies, and God forbid you'd been in movies but maybe you were in a sort of mini downturn, which I was, if you did a TV series, you were admitting defeat. Defeat.
You could go from TV to movies, but you would never go from movies to TV. Never. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm not saying I blazed any trail, but when people see somebody do it, all of a sudden the stigma comes off of it. I was able to do it because I just didn't care. I've always had a healthy case of the fuck-its.
Yeah.
And that really helps. The other thing is I'm naturally curious.
So you want to do different things. I want to do different things. I'm learning. I've never done TV kind of thing.
Never done a podcast. Right. When I wrote my first book, people were like, well, you can't write a memoir because that's another thing people do when it's over.
Right.
Or when they need money.
Right.
And I was like, well, It's neither for me. Yeah. And I don't care what people think because I think I have something to say. And now I'm on my third book.