You’ve managed to turn yourself into a mini-corporation. Where did it start?

McDonald’s. I had the hat and the outfit. Actually, I was in a Hardees commercial, so maybe there. Really, I’ve been acting since I was four and when you do something for such a long time you have to find something else that piques your interests. I like playing records, so I started DJing and that turned out pretty cool.

As DJ Donkey Punch, you spin both rock and hip-hop. Which love came first?

My first concert was Jackson Browne in ’79 with my mom and dad. Bruce Springsteen came out for the encore, and they sang like 20 minutes worth of Beach Boys songs. I was rocking the Osh Kosh overalls and standing on my seat and was like deaf for two days afterwards. So I definitely liked rock first, but there’s tons of hip-hop that I love, especially early and mid-’90s stuff.

What are you listening to these days?

Right now my favorite band is Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah, which is an insane New York band. I’m not sure if they’re on iTunes or if you can download off their website, but they’re unbelievable.

Which makes you more nervous, acting or DJing?

DJing, easily. I just did a party the other night at a big club in Vegas and I almost threw up like four times before I started. DJ AM, Mark Ronson, Stretch Armstrong, Juske, DJ Vice—those guys are my friends, but when they walk in, I become retarded and can’t mix records. It’s like Sean Penn watching you audition. I would be like, “Mom, I want to go home.”

We hear you’re a huge Penn fan. Have you had a chance to meet him?

We’re both friends with the painter Gottfried Helnwein. I was at one of his shows and Sean Penn was there. At one point I was on my cell giving someone directions because they got lost and Penn was looking at me because I was that dick at the art show on his cell phone. Fuck. I just looked down real embarrassed, completely mortified. People are like, “Hey, did you meet Sean Penn?” And all I can say is, “No, not yet.”

How did you get involved with the restaurant Dolce in L.A.?

Some dudes that play in the basketball league I play in came up to us—actually they came to me, and I was thinking, “That’s kind of fucking Sinatra.” The next day I spoke to Kutch [Ashton Kutcher] and Wil [Wilmer Valderrama] about it and I was like, “Hey, you want to invest in a restaurant?” And they were like, “Maybe.” We all decided that we may lose all our money, but it would be really fun and a cool spot, and all the people that were putting it together are famous designers. So, we all invested in Dolce, the same as any other investors, except we talk about it and people that we know show up there and they get press. Then Dolce got fucking huge and we made money in a year. It was fucking unbelievable. It was kind of a thing that we thought would turn out really funny, like, “Hey man, I’ll meet you at my restaurant.” But it turned out to be a smart business. The place is always crowded and people have a good-ass time.

What’s next for you on the acting front?

I just did a movie called Easier, Softer Way that Mekhi Phifer directed. It’s basically a buddy comedy about these two guys who get evicted from their house and are trying to find a place to live and con themselves into rehab.

Rehab, huh. So what do you think the dangers are for you career-wise right now?

I guess really the only danger would be not caring about what I am doing and sucking and doing shitty TV or movies. I would rather not work on crap for money. I’d rather wait my time and do something good. A lot of the things I turned down made a lot of money and did really well but weren’t things that I thought I’d want to be famous for, I guess. I just want to be able to keep working on good shit when I am 50 and not be any kind of pop sensation.

What are your other upcoming projects?

Well, my best friend is this girl named Brie Shaffer who wrote this script called Bunny Wiggins, which is the most fucking genius, dark comedy, dry-humored high school movie. So we have searched for a long time for a director, and every actor that has ever read it has been like, “This is one of the greatest written movies ever,” and so after seeing like five hundred million demo reels and meeting some people, we just figured we would do a better fucking job than they would. If we got Spike Jonze or anyone to direct I would stick my fucking finger in his ass and hand it to him, but we don’t have those guys. She knows what she wants, and I know how to get good acting out of people and make sure that shit is real, so we are directing that this spring.

You’re known for being a poker enthusiast. How good are you?

I’m really fucking good. I have no problem saying that.

What’s the most you’ve won and lost?

I don’t really lose that much. The most I’ve lost is a couple of grand and the most I’ve won is a lot more than that.

I assume you play with a bunch of actors. Is it tougher against them?

As actors we get paid to lie, and poker players get paid to lie, so that works pretty well. But I play a lot with professional poker players and that’s a different ball game. You see certain players that can just read you. Like, is your raise a bluff raise? They just know. Kathy Liebert has my number really bad.

You also do a jazz night at the West Hollywood club Guy’s that has hosted some heavyweight folks. What’s the best set you’ve ever seen?

Christina Aguilera singing Etta James. Macy Gray singing Marvin Gaye. Adam Levine singing Otis Redding. Roy Hargrove coming and sitting in for an hour. Stevie Wonder’s band coming and playing some serious shit. Nikka Costa came in and sang the other day and that was insane. To see a really famous singer, someone who plays huge concerts, and suddenly they’re in this little room singing Bessie Smith—it’s just incredible.

You’re from New York but you’ve lived in L.A. for almost 10 years now. How do you like the city?

I am a little more comfortable being in Manhattan, but I love everything about L.A. And people are like, “What about the fake, plastic blah blah blah?’ And I’m like, “I don’t go to clubs on the Sunset Strip.”

That ’70s Show sparked a revival in ’70s gear. Are you getting sick of the look?

No, because my look was a little more crazy in the first year, but once we really established my character and everything he is about, I wear $300 vintage rock T-shirts from concerts that are just amazing, a pair of jeans, Frye boots, and my glasses. Mila [Kunis] has got it really, really bad. She has the most uncomfortable fashion-played ’70s outfit, and Don Stark, who plays Donna’s dad, has the full goomba look with the bull, the horn, and the whole thing. For me, it’s literally T-shirt and jeans, so it’s really not that bad.

What do you see happening next in L.A. style?

The hipsters are taking over, that’s for sure. The last couple of years the only new fashion scene here has been the bombardment of the elitist hipster, pouring into Hollywood. Not into Hollywood, like the movies, but from Silverlake and down into my little East Hollywood barrio.

You’re holding a grudge against people who live less than a mile away?

Hey, man, what do you expect? I’m from New York.