Charlie Murphy Quotes

I think comedy is difficult, and I'm amazed so many people want to do it. I'll be buying jeans and somebody will say, "I'm a comedian" - the guy selling you the jeans. The desire to be a comedian is weird. I found it weird myself to want to be one; I was a schoolboy when I wanted to be one but I didn't know how to do it. That was 50 years ago, so times have changed greatly. There seems to be a long line of people desperate to do it and most of them are quite good.

When Fargo came out, I hired a publicist for the first time in my life. I thought, if ever I was going to make it, that was then.

Some people use stand-up to get something else in their careers, but it's truly the art form of stand-up I love.

I never thought I'd end up doing comedy, but actually, it's been something I've really relished the challenge of and ended up doing quite a bit of.

Ultimately, I just decided stand-up comedy is a huge commitment, and if you want to be the best, you have to give it one hundred per cent.

Little did I know that earning a living at stand-up is the hardest thing you can do. But once I started doing it, I just loved it, and I realized that I was actually kinda good at it, and then that was it.

You're at the top of your game if you do comedy.

I always wanted to be a popular comedian.

I still love to walk on stage and make people laugh, and I work very, very hard at it, and I take it seriously.

I've been at this a long time, but commercials are what hit for me. Casting directors watch those commercials.

I started pursuing stand-up comedy in 12th grade.

I get to do comedy for a living.

Comedy is crowded. There are hundreds of comedians in every place in the world.

I'm really ambitious about is being a really good comic and doing it for the rest of my life and getting really big. Not really famous because I want fame or attention, just a little freedom. So, that's where I'm ambitious.

When you're a young comedian the first thing you want to do is get a laugh.

With comedy, you never know until you put it in front of an audience. You shoot it and a year later you have no idea if it's going to work. And then you get the response. It's great when it's good.

I grew up fascinated with comedy and with people who could capture someone's attention.

Comedy is a meritocracy. If you are funny, you are there. If you are not, you are out.

I think anybody in front of a crowd is a comedian.

It's not most important to communicate myself on stage as it is to be as funny or interesting as I possibly can on stage. I feel more like I'm doing a play whose main character just happens to share my name.

I remember what a thrill it was to go from the back streets of Birmingham to Madison Square Garden in New York...it's like playing on Mars. You can't buy that.

I guess in my house when I was growing up, I was comfortable trying to be funny. And my dad, of course, it bugged him sometimes. He was trying to rest, and I was constantly trying to say something stupid to get a reaction. But I like doing these movies. You can do it in front of the camera and then it's over. I don't have to worry about being in front of too many people.

I'm friends with a lot of comedians, but we don't talk about material. Most comedians I know don't watch a lot of other comedy.

I thought she was the funniest woman, and I believed being a comedian was the most exciting thing you could be.

Everybody tells jokes, but we still need comedians.