Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I was pre-med for a semester, and then I got a C- in organic chemistry and was washed out of that program. Then I imagined I'd be a lawyer. I was gonna go to law school.
I'm sure that having acted like an asshole for a great deal of my life, then having played assholes for a good part of my life, created a perception that I'm an asshole.
Comedy did a lot of things for me. I mean, 'SNL'? Not too bad. Not too shabby with this comedy thing. I have really worked on my comedy and really upped it some notches.
One of the greatest feelings in the world is knowing that we as individuals can make a difference. Ending hunger in America is a goal that is literally within our grasp.
I never want to have that on my shoulders - I never want to be number one on the call sheet. That's a life that I don't want. I mean, I'm not ducking the responsibility.
Many years ago I was in another soap opera called The Newcomers which was on twice a week for three years. I really don't think I could do another stint like that again.
I have a dog that loves to fight. It's a border collie, and they fight low to the ground. Other dogs are terrified of my dog, because he gets low and goes for the balls.
The best decision I made at NYU was joining the Shakespeare ensemble. It literally led to everything I did after that. It gave me the kind of confidence I really needed.
Me being a shy kid, very closed off, showing vulnerability in a character was sort of a safe space on stage. It's always been in my toolbox, there for me when I need it.
The money can be a hindrance to someone like me because the danger is that you start thinking, 'Is that a $20 million take?' That kind of thing, and being self-critical.
It's great to be able to play the 'bad guy' role, because you always get a lot to do, but I'm always looking at the why - how does a person get to that particular point.
The one thing that makes 'Torchwood' work so brilliantly and makes it a little bit above the rest of all other sci-fi dramas out there is that we have a sense of humour.
Animation is a great way to work. No early morning call times, no make-up chair. In live action ,you're always fighting the clock; the sun is always going down too soon.
Animation is a great way to work. No early morning call times, no make-up chair. In live action, you're always fighting the clock; the sun is always going down too soon.
I learned a lot of things about literature talking to people at the publishing company. Did you know that about 90 percent of celebrity autobiographies are ghostwritten?
Words often spoil a moment of judgment or excitement; in all great puzzles and wars and movements, there is a moment to speak and a moment to accept with silent dignity.
The things we always disengage with are one-sided stories or one-sided characters. They're very boring. When you feel like you're being hit over the head, you disengage.
I don't take much from my own father, because he was a very austere, quiet, private man who would come home from work, go to his parlour and play Beethoven on his piano.
The whole of Cornwall has become antiseptic. When I was growing up in St. Austell, the county was wonderfully rough and workish. These days it is polite and Disney-fied.
Really, improv is all about creating for what's around you, in the moment, so it fits in a way that you can't see the seams. It's like a great jazz combo. I still do it.
I'm good at being on my own. As a kid, I was always in my room alone, so I have a high threshold for it. If I'm bored, I'll read. Hanging around doesn't go well with me.
I'm not big on sequels; I've done them, but I like doing little things that have their own timelessness to them, classic type things, and then you go onto something new.
There's lots of stuff about me being a fan of Cliff but not being gay. Which suggests that he is, but he's not. Anyway, this is Channel 4, let their lawyers sort it out.
When I was a kid, you listened to a certain genre. Now it's like, "I love indie rock, I love hip-hop, jazz, funk." Also, we knew it couldn't be the same thing each year.
I love the whole of California, I have places... my whole thing is with all the money I make, I just want to buy as many places in California as I can because I love it.
Finally, you get the job, and you think you'll be dancing on the ceiling, but I just wanted to go take a nap. It was just like a weight had been lifted off or something.
Some people have the meat-market mentality, so you've got to take your shirt off because it will bring girls into the theater. When that comes up on set, I challenge it.
I think I've spent so much time playing characters that are so far away from me and learning how to technically build and how to technically put something on top of you.
My parents were always supportive of me in terms of expressing myself artistically. Art, musical instruments, singing - whatever I did, they were just really supportive.
It's such a small industry here you inevitably end up working with the same people over and over again. There are only so many actors to go around, which is good for us.
And of course to work with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and work with a wonderful, beautiful script directed by Nancy Meyers, it was really for me a dream come true.
I go through a whole process with the actors first, building and creating characters, then I encourage them to sort of live in that character when they're in the screen.
My father was in the navy. I always found it a bit strange that he would choose to spend an extraordinary amount of time underneath the water in a submarine with 60 men.
We're all conditioned to work hard, and it's not just an Asian thing: it's an Asian American thing. You maximize the little opportunity you have, and I've made a career.
Nobody's going to say hello to me in the street, really, because there'll be someone a bit more famous coming along the street in a minute. That typifies London, really.
It hasn't been until the last couple years that I've started playing close to my age. But it's fun playing the younger roles because it takes you back to the teen years.
Some people come to you because if you're in their movie, it'll help them raise money. And some people come to you because they think you're the person to play the part.
Theres no doubt that some of the greatest films ever made have come from the theater. Its all a matter of finding a way to make the theater experience watchable on film.
When you're a lead role, I'm learning that you set a tone for the movie in a way, like a director does, or like other actors do. But it seems like you set a mood on set.
Soccer is my first love. Ive been playing since I was 4 years old. I traveled the world doing it. I broke my leg when I was 16 or 17, and acting kind of filled the void.
When I do a horror or a fantasy film it all boils down to something in the script that surprises me. It could be a big thing or a small moment. If it's there I'll do it.
It's funny, a lot of people think I take myself seriously because I come off so serious sometimes. But it's not that I take myself seriously, I take what I do seriously.
Things have become considerably better for men of colour since I was born. But I'd say that we'll be really getting somewhere when things get better for women of colour.
Becoming a parent gives you access to a whole world of feeling. It gives you a much stronger sense of life and death: becoming a father made me realise my own mortality.
I'm not really the quiet type, although some people think I am. But I'm the rebel type in the sense that I don't think I'm like everyone else. I try to be an individual.
There's so many intangible forces that come into play when making a film, I have no idea what the public will ultimately think of something that I do, let alone critics.
A guy's biggest style mistake is definitely trying to look too cool. As long as you've got a good pair of jeans, a good pair of boots and a few good shirts, you're fine.
Gemma Arterton in 'The Master Builder' at the Almeida - she was absolutely brilliant. Ibsen is difficult and quite hard to follow, but she just brings the stage to life.
It's really odd to be up close to an icon like Bruce Willis. You're used to seeing him on a screen, 50 feet tall. To think, 'Hmm, I'm taller than you are' is just weird.
Normally, when I read a script, I read 30 pages, and then go have a cup of tea and come back. And then, I read 20 pages and go make a phone call, and then go back to it.