Ezra Furman Quotes

I always performed out of fear of failure - and that's a tough way to play. It was as if my back was to the wall and I was constantly surrounded by very dangerous people that were not friendly to me.

The thing that helped me come to terms with performing was an anxiety, a desperation for acceptance. There was never enough positive motivation in my life.

I'm not saying I look cool, but every single time I go onstage, it is a fail if I don't feel like I'm going to pass out at least twice.

People say to me that I can't be nervous because I've had such a wealth of experience, but I tell them that I have never done this particular part before.

I'm not a natural born performer.

What holds you back in comedy is fear.

I've got a lot of weaknesses. One of them is that I often get scared and tense when I'm working - and fear is one of the big threats to any good performance, because it closes you down and makes it harder for you to produce life in front of the camera.

If I'm not nervous, if I don't have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on. I must have that tension.

Getting up in front of an audience is my biggest motivation.

Pressure is self-doubt when you're unprepared.

When I started on 'Strictly,' I was terrified. Live television seemed like the most daunting thing in the world.

I was not happy with myself as a human being when I was very young - I was afraid of people; I was afraid of talking, I didn't know how to express myself other than by being on stage.

When I walk out on to the court and everyone is staring, sometimes I wonder how my legs will carry me out there. That's forgotten as soon as I start playing.

You will always worry - a wee lad from Edinburgh going up on stage in Glasgow.

On the first recording, I wasn't singing out that much; I was shy with my singing.

I always imitated other people and thought, 'Well, maybe I'll do standup,' but I was too afraid for that.

Almost every actor goes into almost every picture very frightened. He is positive he really can't do it. The bigger the star, the more frightened he is.

I'm scared of rehearsals, I'm scared of doing all this because I don't feel like I'm an actress.

Whenever I walk out on a stage, I'm begging for affection.

I lack confidence as an actor.

I'm kind of shy, and I think that I take that out by performing in front of a lot of people. That's how I get out my shyness.

Actors are no strangers to self-doubt, fear, and rejection.

I find fear is a great motivator to work hard.

I kind of keep my personality in my pocket a lot. When I start to do stand-up, that's not my true personality either. It's the personality of a guy who hasn't been able to say what he wanted to say.

I've always been a bit of a self-doubter. I think a lot of actors are.