Matthrw Fox Archives

Speed Racer star Matthew Fox is featured in the latest issue of Men’s Health. The 41-year-old actor talks about his new live action film, being a father and his six-step plan to mastering any new skill. Here are some interview highlights:

On fatherhood: “Speed Racer is about the importance of family and the adversarial relationships within them. My father was hard on me in a positive way. There’s a fine line between demanding and abusive. If he was demanding of me, he demanded that much more from himself.”

On curiosity: “Curiosity is an incredible part of having a fulfilling and satisfying life. I feel sad for people who have lost their curiosity. I recently met Susan Sarandon and William Hurt, both of whom I admire. I was stunned about how curious they are about people and life in general.”

On heroism:”We didn’t want Jack Shephard [Fox's character on Lost] to be a classic archetype of a hero, riding in to save the day. People aren’t that way. That’s just an antiquated idea of heroism. People have flaws, and heroism comes from rising above those flaws.”

On perspective: “Opposing viewpoints all boil down to perspective. Understanding this has made me better at dealing with them. It’s amazing how many people walk around in this world thinking their way is the right way and the only way. That’s pretty dangerous and pretty unforgivable.”

On conflict: “My wife and I have very intense fights, but they’re over in 10 minutes. We don’t hold on to stuff. Life’s too short for that. The more you’re conscious of this, the easier it is to reach across the aisle and say, ‘I’m sorry we got here. What are you seeing? How can we fix this?’”

Catch Matthew Fox as Racer X (Speed’s rival) in theaters on Friday, May 9. For the full interview and video footage of Foxy’s cover photo shoot, visit MensHealth.com.