The star of The Foot Fist Way and Tropic Thunder chops it up (hiiiiii-yah!) about breaking into Hollywood.

As told to Mary H.K. Choi 1 DON’T BE A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT.
You think you’re going to work your way up, and that’s not the deal. I worked on the set of Battle Dome and vacuumed the thing in between cage matches. You work for 16 hours and get back up at 5 a.m. to go do it again. You’ll lose your mind

2 IF YOU HAVE TO BE A P.A., HAVE FUN.
Roofie people’s coffee. I like the Black Butterflies. They dissolve quickly, and there’s a mild taste of licorice, but nothing anyone’s going to detect. Next thing you know, they’re in the Valley and I’m lumbering over them with a baseball bat.

3 INDULGE YOUR INNER FANBOY.
I’ve never ached to be on screen. I’m just a humongous fan of movies and this is a ticket to ride. Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Nick Nolte…these are the motivators. I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but spend the summer hanging with these dudes? I’ll do that.

4 KNOW THAT L.A. IS DIFFERENT.
I used to loathe L.A., but when I went back to the South, L.A. had its thorny fingernail in my neck. When Foot Fist Way got into Sundance, I went out to L.A., had cold beer, a big spliff, and fat rails. Crystal methamphetamines. That’s what separates L.A. from the South. There’s real Mexican food out here too. And the racism is different—more of an aged, oaky flavor