Movie fans certainly know Clifton Collins Jr. from his diverse roles in such movies as 187, Traffic, Babel, Capote, Crank 2: High Voltage, the new Star Trek, Sunshine Cleaning, and next the upcoming Boondock Saints II. Although Clifton Collins Jr. has made a huge name for himself on the big screen, many fans may not know that the Los Angeles born actor is currently working behind the camera as a director, having helmed videos for The Soul of John Black and recently winning a Country Music Television (CMT) award after directing the videos “Chicken Fried” and “Whatever It Is” for the Zac Brown Band. Interestingly, unlike the conventional actor transition to director, Clifton Collins Jr. can now add the credit of chart topping Country video director to his resume since “Chicken Fried” went to #1 on the CMT.

Fresh on the heels of his #1 CMT video success, we caught up with Clifton to find out more about his budding career as a director and to learn the tricks of the country trade of how Collins Jr. put his eye for visuals to use for Zac Brown. With our pre-scheduled interview set the day before, we had no idea what was to come the day of our interview with Clifton Collins Jr., as only two hours before the world learned that mega-star Michael Jackson had passed away. Since we were about to talk to Clifton about his music career, it was impossible not to start the interview on the topic of Michael Jackson. However, what we unexpectedly found out was that the death of the “King of Pop” hit close to home for Clifton.

With Clifton Collins Jr. fresh off his role as a Romulan villain in Star Trek, pulling double duty both on camera and behind the Country video lens, the versatile actor is currently working on a number of films, which include Mike Judge’s upcoming Extract and the long awaited Boondock sequel, Boondock Saints II. In one of the more candid and casual interviews we’ve had in a while, Clifton Collins Jr. shared his thoughts on everything from his work behind the camera for the Zac Brown Band, the process as a director, and the patriotism within “Chicken Fried” to how he’s a changed actor after playing Perry Smith in Capote, his thoughts on the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, Inception, and his time on Boondock Saints II.

And if you’re a fan of the latest Star Trek movie, Clifton also shared his most interesting (and awesome) story of the first time he stepped on the Star Trek set with make-up.

[Interview conducted the afternoon Michael Jackson died.]

THE DEADBOLT: I guess you heard about Michael Jackson?

CLIFTON COLLINS JR.: Yeah, rest in peace. My dear friend, he lent me his… READ MORE