I played Buddy Layman in The Diviners. There was a lot of studying I chose to take on for that role, including studying the behaviors and mannerisms of children with special needs. At the time, I thought that was all it took to act - studying for your role and applying that to your performance. I learned a lot while I was getting to know Buddy. I learned the art of simplicity, of not taking life for granted, but most of all, I learned, as an actor, that you have to let everything go and I learned how to do that. I was going through a lot at that time. Everything that was bottling up inside of me, everything that I was afraid to let people see, came out through Buddy. I laid it all out and everyone experienced those feelings with me, including the audience. I learned what it meant to use my personal experience to bring life to a character.