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Spoilers for13 Reasons Whyseason two ahead.
Usually, I go to a theater and I pick a particular showtime.
To be fair, the intensity of your many crying and fight scenes make them best watched alone.
Between seasons, it seems like Mr. Porter had thrown the rule book out the window.
For me, throwing the rule book out of the window for Mr. Porter represents a very layered look.
The first season was challenging, in a sense, because Mr. Porter was feeling what I was feeling.
I had never done a Netflix show.
There was a new set of rules.
Acting is learning how to be natural in an uncomfortable situation.
I felt like I was experiencing Mr. Porter internally.
Thats one of the mysteries of building television.
You dont have the beginning, middle, and end in front of you.
You have bits of the writers brain.
Youll have the first two episodes, but theyre barely perfecting three and four.
I was like, Whoa.
You went to a performing arts high school in New Jersey.
Have you seen a difference in the way schools handle mental health since then?
Guidance counseling, maybe eight to ten years ago, was all an academic approach.
As our culture began to change, there became more of a need for psychological evaluations of academics.
I went back to visit my old stomping grounds.
Other forms of trauma are living in a dysfunctional society, let alone a dysfunctional home.
Its really shown me where I was [at that age].
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My guidance counselor, her name was Ms. Morrison, had this open-door policy.
And she had an issue with Mr. Porter!
You know when people are talking to the screen?
She was like, Derek, I dont understand.
Why didnt you ask her?
Im thinking, Oh my God, whats going on?
I found out that mental health was always there, but it was always very coded.
At one point, youre both sobbing in front of each other.
I appreciate Katherine as an actress being present.
It doesnt matter whether shes young or older, she was so giving.
It made the scene even more powerful.
A lot of the times when I would watch her do scenes, it seems so effortless.
I applaud her for that.
How did you mentally prepare for your big courtroom scene where Mr. Porter breaks down on the stand?
I remember him talking about sacrifice.
The scenes were so dialogue heavy for him that he really had to lock himself in his trailer.
And I remembered that.
As a dad, Im full-on.
I wanted them to debate me, debate the script, debate my take on it.
I needed to debate Mr. Porter.
That was my process.
Because I wanted to be emotionally free, free from technique, and present on the stand.
It can stem from our fathers, forms of education, many different things.
Many of us look okay on the outside, but were broken on the inside.
I find that these roles choose me, I dont choose them.
I love movies likeBourne Identity,Stars Wars, action movies.
A lot of movies that I watch are not necessarily what I play.
SinceAntwone Fisheruntil now, Ill have guys tell me that that was their story.
Theyll say with their eyes, Im sharing something very secretive with you because I trust you.
I took it as a responsibility.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
