Ed O'Neill Quotes

When I read the script for Will & Grace in 1998, I knew I was the only guy for the part.

'Cheers' was great. They paired me up with Shelley Long on this tiny bar set for the final audition. That was my first really big one, and we just clicked instantly - I still think I got the part because of Shelley.

I can't imagine that I would have been cast in the role, without Jamie Lee giving me a thumbs up.

A casting director who'd cast me in 'Assassins' sent a video to Kevin Reynolds, the director, and Mel Gibson, whose company is producing '187.' Then I went in and auditioned, and a few hours later, they called me.

'Mariah' was the first series-regular role for me, and that really came about because of 'Secret Honor.' That really was a direct result of that. Because now I had an agent and was submitted for that part, for James Malone. And... I was the casting director's first choice for James Malone.

The first audition my manger sent me on was 'The Hunger Games,' and I got the role.

I think I was first choice for the part. I don't know - that's what they always tell you anyway. I didn't have to do any audition for the part. Sam saw me in Dinner and the whole thing slipped into place.

The role of my agent has just been to get me in the room. If I can get in the room - say the character is just a charming man who lives next door - then I'll walk in there and be as charming as I can and they will think to themselves, 'I don't see why we can't cast him.'

I was living in Evanston, Illinois and I was taking theater classes down the street, and our theater school was kind of affiliated with an agency, and so I went on one audition for whatever that movie was, 'My Stepmother is an Alien' or whatever it was, and 'Roseanne' was my second audition.

I used to do a Saturday drama group called Young Blood Theatre Company with school-friends in west London - nothing to do with my mum and dad. A casting director came to pick people out for a new BBC children's series called 'MI High.' She picked me, I auditioned, and I got the job.

Often, you're not quite sure what people have seen you in, but the script lands in your inbox. That was the case with 'The Night Manager.'

My friend had told me about 'Stranger Things' and how I had to watch it. I was like, 'OK, I will!' I binged it in, like, a day and was like, 'Oh my gosh, Mom, you need to watch this show. Everyone needs to watch this.' A week later, I got the breakdown for Max. A month later, I got the part.

I had actually sent an audition tape for Simon Pegg's movie 'Hot Fuzz,' which came to nothing. Four years after the film released, out of nowhere, I got a call saying the producers of 'Game of Thrones' wanted me to play Hodor after they had seen that particular tape.

I had a Taco Bell audition where I had to wear a huge sombrero and walk around like an idiot. I got call-backs for the movie 'Twister,' did small independent stuff that I won't name. But it led to all my breakthrough moments on 'Entourage.'

I'm just thinking I'm just like a normal actor who gets scripts, and I read them, and... if I enjoy reading them, then that's what's exciting, then I get excited about the audition or the project itself.

There was one thing I loved a little bit more than surfing - and that was acting.

As an actor, you're in the hands of producers and directors. It's important to find out who you're working with.

I would definitely do TV, at the drop of a hat, if I was offered a good role.

When 'The Master' came around, they said they wanted to try and find a part for me, and I got a text from the casting director saying that.

I sent some scenes from 'Life on Mars'... and then I didn't hear anything for about 48 hours, and I was sure that I wouldn't get this. Then I got a phone call saying, 'They want you to take the role of Jim Shannon on 'Terra Nova,' and would I be interested!

I just auditioned for 'The Wire' like I just auditioned for any other job.

What actually happened with 'Miracle' was that someone saw me in 'Jurassic Park' and said, 'We want someone with a white beard - how about him?' I've got a round face, white hair, a white beard. I can wear half-moon glasses and waddle a little, cope with a cane, raise my hat.

The two moments that I felt the most nervous in my entire life were when I first had reading rehearsal for 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' and when I was at the Academy Awards ceremony.

I think 99 percent of actors have gone through severe rejection before they ever landed a single role. I probably auditioned for 100 projects before I was cast in even the smallest role.

All I ever wanted was a successful career as an actress.