Billy Crudup Quotes

I know there are insecurities in being an actor. There are certain compromises you need to make, but they are all worth it.

'Cause it's really hard, it's hard to be an actor.

All of a sudden I'm an actor, and I spend a decade trying to fit in and realising that I didn't, really. Sometimes in the right circumstances, with the right people, it felt OK. But other times it was a bit more jobbing. I didn't fit the mould, somehow.

As an actor, I felt I couldn't compete. I wasn't as cute as the leading man; I wasn't as brilliant as Robin Williams.

You have a lot of disappointments as an actor.

There is a lot of struggle in being an actor; you need so much emotional strength, no matter what level of stardom you have, that it's nice to have something steady.

To be let go from a soap opera is the most embarrassing confidence basher in the world. It's like, 'Oh, if I'm not good enough for that, I'm not good enough for anything.'

You feel an affinity with younger actors, because, you know, it's a very insecure job. And it can be a long time before you feel like, you know, things might be all right.

As an actor, it easy to be so self-critical, saying to yourself, 'Am I good enough? Am I good looking enough? Am I smart enough?'

I never did anything as an actor that I was extremely proud of.

I still feel like I'm trying to make it. It's hard to shed the struggling actor thing.

When I finished my A-levels, I assumed I'd be able to get work as an actor. But I couldn't. I didn't get an audition. Nothing. So I thought I'd better train and then the parts would come.

Physically, it is very demanding as an actor, and I don't want to put a lot of focus on that, but I think it is emotionally and mentally a lot more... It can completely twist you... We abandon ourselves for days and months, and by the end of it, we are twisted people which you make fun of.

With acting, I felt like I had a lot to prove because I didn't study it; I didn't work my way up in a traditional sense.

Being an actor, you always feel like you're swimming upstream. People are going, 'No, they don't like you. They don't like the way you look. They don't like how old you are.'

My career after 'Life Unexpected' took a really big dip, and I realized you have no control as an actor over the process of going to work.

I got scars from every film I've done, every TV show.

No one would touch me with a barge pole as an actress. It hit hard. I thought, 'What am I doing? This is a stupid idea!' It's like throwing yourself into a massive pond, and you feel like you're going to drown so quickly.

When you're an aspiring actor, you do so many self-tapes that it gets to a certain point where you have to develop a thick skin, otherwise you will never survive.

As an actor, you always feel like you're not going to work again. You're always unsure about how things are going to work out, and you start thinking you're going to just fade off into the distance.

Every time I get a role, I'm surprised. It's like, 'Alright, when am I going to stop fooling them?'

As an actor, you deal with so much rejection and humiliation. When the good things come around, you tend not to trust your instincts.

Being an actor is definitely not the hardest job in the world - it's definitely a first-world problem to have, but I'm not very good with rejection. I constantly question whether or not I'm suited for this business, because it is your job to get rejected.

I never in a million years thought I would be starring in Hairspray, ever. Because if you think about my past, it's been 30 years of playing a macho leading man, so when I was offered it, I said: "Why? Why me? What have I done to deserve that you think I should do this?" After much convincing, over a year and two months, I was convinced they wanted to make a great movie.

By some fluke, my folks forgot to ask me the question most crucial to ensuring a lifetime of self-doubt: 'What if you fail?