I was out walking my dog one day, and my manager, Tom, spotted me. We were talking, I was looking for a manager, and before I knew it I was going in to see Marcia Schulman over at Twentieth Century Fox and [being given] a breakdown for this character.

It was only a set amount, twelve episodes sort of deal. They said [he was] something like a prize fighter, Joe Louis, get knocked down but keep getting back up [type of character], and I thought that was the coolest thing.

I talked to Marcia, and the whole conversation at our first meeting was about restaurants in New York city. We didn't talk about the character at all. We talked about pizza, zabaglione and pastas, New York.

Then I came back and read for David Greenwalt, Joss, Gail Berman and all the studio heads. It worked out fine.

It was a very bang-up, nerve-wracking audition for me. Because it was very early on, it's a very terrifying experience. I walked out saying, "I almost lost it." I didn't think I was going to get this part, and I could feel my body tensing up inside. You go through that and I was able to get it, and just to walk out on the first night of shooting was great.