Ed Helms Quotes

A great deal of my battle, as an actor, is to widdle away the things that make me self-conscious and try to trick myself into not being self-conscious.

When I went to Los Angeles right after high school, I got some acting jobs, and I never, ever wanted to be an actress! Public speaking and acting make me want to vomit. But I have never been nervous singing. When it comes to public speaking, I stumble on my words, sweat, and pull at my clothes.

I debuted in Bollywood without inhibitions, and I don't want to develop any fears now. Nothing is more detrimental to an actor than the lack of total surrender.

I did musicals. It's funny, because I can hide behind a character and a voice, but when I have to bring myself and my own voice to it, it's very nerve-wracking.

If you're up there [on stage] thinking about what you're doing, you're just not there and it's not going to happen.So trying to learn how to overcome those - which is a normal thing to do. You're in front of a lot of people. People are going to get very self-conscious. So you have to learn to sort of overcome that tendency towards self-consciousness and just blow it wide open. And you jump in and join all those people that are out there enjoying what you're doing together.

What actors are good at doing is walking into a situation that should make you incredibly self-conscious and frightened and doing it anyway. That's the gig, pretending that you are comfortable.

I lack confidence as an actor.

As much as I hate auditioning - it's so hard and awkward - it's way better to walk out of that room and win a role because of what you did.

I'm a huge karaoke fan. Oh my God. I'm one of those girls who don't give the mic away. It's a problem. I'm a closeted pop star.

I'm used to being in front of camera and knowing what to think. But if you're asking me to be me, I get very self-conscious. My job isn't to be me. Being an actor, people think you can do a eulogy at a funeral, a speech at a wedding. I find all that very nerve-racking.

I think it's just a nerve-wracking thing to sing in a movie in general.

I'm not scared of many things in front of the camera. Everywhere else, yes, I'm terrified. But acting is just pretending, and you are exploring feelings in a safe environment.

People ask me, 'How do you remember your lines?' That's nothing. That is the least of my concerns.

I used to teach kids when I was younger. When I was about 14 or 15 I started teaching children drama and something that I used to say to them was, 'Don't be afraid.' People would be afraid of forgetting their lines or something.

I can't imagine actually singing on this show like I did on 'Felicity', but it would be kind of funny.

I've always loved Broadway, but I never thought I'd actually do it because I was never a full Broadway dancer. And I don't have a big, booming voice.

I really like singing, although I'm embarrassed about doing it.

I'm scared of karaoke. I think if I did have a go to karaoke song, it would be 'Whatta Man' by Salt-n-Pepa.

Acting's all about the confidence you exude, especially on film. I mean, nervousness isn't attractive in anyone, but a film camera will seek it out and punish you.

I was always singing to myself, but I never ever performed, and I never told anyone I liked to sing. So it was a definitely a new adventure going in to audition for 'Glee.'

Self-consciousness can destroy a performance. Getting rid of that is always good.

Some of the greatest actors on the planet are the most insecure people. Now I don't know if that insecurity necessarily equates to a lack of confidence. Some people are just very shy individuals. You give them a character to play and a script, and you put them in front of a camera or on a stage, and they just go.

I sure do love theater. I mean, that's where I started. I am actually sort of shy, but something happens when the audience comes in. It's something nice for me. It terrifies me, but I'm able to do it.

Actresses can get outrageously precious about the way they look. That's not what life's about. If you starve yourself to the point where your brain cells shrivel, you will never do good work. And if you're overly conscious of your arms flapping in the wind, how can you look the other actor in the eye to respond to them?

I can't act!