The self-proclaimed "most known, unknown person in Hollywood," has appeared in everything from ER and CSI to He's Just Not That Into You and Gran Torino. With five movies on the horizon, he won't be unknown for long.

INKED: How did you land such a plum role in Gran Torino?

CORY HARDRICT: It was a regular audition process. I remember showing up and the audition sheet was five pages long with 100 names on each page, and I was like, "Ah, man, I'm turning around and going home." It was a cattle call. But I went in, did my best, and forgot all about it. Next thing I knew, I was on my honeymoon in Turks and Caicos, and I got the call that I was going to Detroit. I was jumping up and down.

Did Clint Eastwood give you any good advice about Hollywood?

He said, "Never worry about what you're gonna get, just go in and show 'em what you got." That stuck with me. It's like, don't worry about the outcome, just live in the moment, do your best, and that's all you can do.

As a kid who grew up on the South Side of Chicago, how did you get into acting?

My mom dragged me to an audition for an Oprah Winfrey movie. There were 3,000 kids lined up at Harpo Studios, and we waited in line for four hours, but I got a spot as an extra, and I've wanted to act ever since.

Let's talk tattoos. How many do you have?

Two. The first one is my name on my left arm. My brother Nick stitched his name on his arm, and I thought it was cool, but it looked kinda bootleg. The "N" was super small, and the "I" was a capital "I," so I was like, "I'm gonna get mine professionally done." My second is a cross with "1954 to 1996," and my mother's name through the middle, because she passed in 1996. It's a way to keep her close to me for the rest of my life. It's on my right arm, near my bicep.

You're married to Tia Mowry, one of the twins from the hit '90s TV show Sister, Sister. Is it tough being married to a fellow actor?

It's great. I don't look at it as being married to an actress. We're both real people, we support each other and love each other, and that's all that matters. We're not into the whole Hollywood thing. In fact, we're so far away from the scene. Our scene is at home with our dog, Chico, just trying to figure out what's next.

So what is next for you?

I have a BET film coming out called Dough Boys. I'm used to playing "street" kind of guys, but I'm not street at all. It won't hurt to do another urban movie or two, but that's probably it for me. There are so many things I want to try.