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You are also well known for your part on Lost. So what are the differences between embodying characters on film versus television?

MR: To me there is really no big difference other than the fact that you get more airtime with your character. You have more time on television than you do on film to create arcs and evolution for your character, which is pretty cool with television. With film it is more rushed and everything is set for you. You take 50% what the script is and then 50% what you bring to it, so you know everything that’s going to happen. With television, you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, with a film you have it beginning to end. You can analyze it a thousand times if you want to and create whatever arcs you want, but it is set for you. Not knowing what is going to happen to you next week on television is pretty awesome. There’s more time to play in television than in film.

Have you learned anything about the military or felt differently about it during the whole training experience?

MR: No, I’ve had a really great relationship with the military and the military is the military. I love the boys, they are great; the girls, they are awesome. One thing that really did stick out to me that wasn’t as potent in my previous meetings with the military was the lack of camaraderie, between different subsidiary groups like Army versus Air Force versus Marines versus National Guard versus Intel, Spec Ops. It is friendly, sometimes, the way they crack on each other, but they really have some serious opinions about each other, and they aren’t necessarily nice ones speaking about the other. I’ve always found that kind of weird. It was more prominent now than I’ve noticed before.

Can you talk about Jonathan Liebesman and how he compares to the other directors you’ve worked with?

MR: He’s freaking awesome! Love that guy. He’s down to earth, he attacks every situation from a thousand angles, and he doesn’t really close any doors. While he’s working, everything is open for change, and I admire that. He has a massive attention to detail and is constantly analyzing everything and I love that, because that means he is animated, he is constantly interacting, always moving puzzle pieces. I like directors like that. You don’t feel scared to play. He’s really good at communicating with actors I think. He’s just a great guy.

I’ve read that you shot against a billboard green screen background. What is it like working with green screens?

MR: You know what? I have absolutely no true green screen experience, even working on Avatar. All of my stunts were on sets surrounded by massive blocks of dirt and twisted cars, and army tanks destroyed, melted metal… They really, really did a number on these sets. The billboard green screen, you don’t really interact with it. They just use it so they can fill it in and make it look like LA, because we were shooting in Louisiana.

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