In the the late seventies and early eighties, I played background roles in thirty movies... Woody Allen movies, Scorsese films, you name it. Whatever was being shot in New York, I was doing stand-in and background work because I wanted to be close to...
I play a character called Lieutenant Delcourt who, in the original comics, pops up from time to time to rescue Tintin. I guess if you've grown up watching movies like 'Jaws' and 'Indiana Jones,' it's pretty surreal to find yourself on set with Steven...
Eve Harrington: I won't play tonight. I couldn't, not possibly. I couldn't go on. Addison DeWitt: Couldn't go on? You'll give the performance of your life.
[after listening to Mortimer's description of a character in a play] Dr. Einstein: You know, you were right about that fellow. He wasn't very bright.
Real Harvey: If you think reading comics about your life seems strange, try watching a play about it. God only knows how I'll feel when I see this movie.
Sheldon Flender: Hey, look who's here. The big Broadway success. I don't write hits. My plays are art. They're written specifically to go unproduced.
[Vernon catches Bender playing basketball in the gym] Bender: Don't you want to hear my excuse? Richard Vernon: Out. Bender: I'm thinkin' of tryin' out for a scholarship.
Mr. Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship. A ruthless minority of people seem to have forgotten good old-fashioned virtues. They just can't stand seeing the other fellow win. If these people would just play the game...
Morton Hull: Do you realize that more people will be watching you tonight, than all those who have seen theater plays in the last forty years? Chance the Gardener: Why?
It makes it fun. When an actor plays a character, you want what that character wants. Otherwise it doesn't look authentic. So I really want to defeat Jimmy - I mean Jimmy as the character.
I don't like improvising on camera, particularly, but very often, a scene will not be working, and you rehearse it once or twice, and you realize something's missing. So I'll play with it until it makes sense.
If you're playing a negative character, sooner or later it rubs off on you. Some people don't mind living in that state, but I don't want to be there anymore. I don't want to live in a state of depression.
You go to any Jay-Z concert, and he plays his hits. Comedians don't have hits. You have to have a whole brand-new hour. You have no hits to rely on. It's the hardest thing.
We have been given a role to play. We have been asked to provide, to give lectures on the role of Islamic development and the way we do it here, so the people who are Muslims there would understand what the role of Islam is.
Unless your kid is Pele Jr., they're not going to be able to feed themselves from soccer. If your kid knows how to play soccer, but not make dinner, you have done them a disservice.
I think specifically because of the character that I played, people are very connected to her. I used to get letters from young gay and lesbian and trans-gendered kids saying, 'I didn't kill myself because of Buffy'.
Plays are wonderfully different than short stories, first because it's a story that's on a stage, but there's a different sort of tension that appears on stage - you get to see your characters in a different way - like with lights.
I started to itch to do a play again and 'Macbeth' came to the surface in my mind. I never thought I would do it in a conventional way. A sweaty Macbeth with blood on his arms coming in fresh from the battle doesn't interest me.
I've got nothing against big-budget values. I mean, I was very proud of 'The Avengers,' the part that I played in it, albeit a small one. It was thrilling to be part of it. But it's so huge that you can never really wrap your mind around it.
Playing the misunderstood character has been really interesting to me. But I think after too long, that also becomes a little bit of a cliche. Or that's all you're expected to do. I didn't want that to be the totality of what my career was.
As of right now, I have no desire. I've watched several games and played pickup ball thinking I'd have the feeling I'd like to get back, but I didn't have that feeling. I don't really miss the game.
