John C. McGinley Quotes

I live in New York and got a call from my agent saying there was this new role on 'Mad Men,' it might be recurring and they're seeing people tomorrow. I said, 'OK, this is one of those things where you hedge your bets, use your miles and get on a plane.' I flew out Tuesday morning and got the job on a Wednesday.

I got this call that they wanted me to join this cast. They called it a family show, and it thought that it would be similar to all family shows. I wasn't sure about this until I watched some tapes, and was amazed.

I had a traditional interview based on a phone call from an agent. He says there's a show and they would like to see you and its called Dallas. With very little knowledge I go over to this meeting at Warner Brothers.

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.

Whenever I pick a script, I make sure I'm choosing something I would want to watch. And 'Quantico' was something I'd definitely want to watch. As soon as I read the pilot - and I read 26 this season - I knew this was it.

For 'Supergirl,' I actually didn't audition.

My agent suggested me to EastEnders casting director, Julia Crampsie, who I already knew. I'm delighted that Julia said, He's not old enough is he?' My agent told her how old I really am and she said Oh'!

When you sign up for a TV show, you don't know if it's going to be for a pilot or for the rest of your life, so I wanted to play a character that I enjoyed thoroughly, and there weren't that many of them out there.

I knew at the time that that wasn't the part I would be doing, they just wanted a screentest so they could have a look at it to show to the directors and producers. Then they wrote a part for me or maybe they already had it in mind, I don't know.

My big break was really Liz Meriwether saw me in a movie called 'Paper Heart' and really liked it, and then saw me in a movie called 'Ceremony' because she knew Max Winkler and said, 'I want you to be in 'No Strings Attached,' but you gotta audition for it.' From that it was easier for her to get me in 'New Girl.'

I was a complete unknown when I did 'Karate Kid.' I'd just done a pilot for a TV show called 'Call to Glory.' And I sat down with John Avildsen and brought still pictures from the show. I brought pictures! At that point, I would've been happy to be in a dog-food commercial.

I was fortunate enough to book a pilot, and we just got picked up for a midseason replacement for ABC. It's called 'Romantically Challenged,' and I'm going to be playing Alyssa Milano's little sister. The other actor in it is Kyle Bornheimer from 'Worst Week' - he's hilarious.

'Drive' came to me because the casting director knew my manager and called and said, 'You've always talked to me about Albert wanting to play the heavy. I think he should read this.' My ears just perked up.

I love Chuck Lorre. I did a little guest spot on 'Roseanne' when I was fourteen. It was a whirlwind experience in a week and I think with Chuck, I had auditioned for him for a couple of other shows of his over the years.

I went to audition for an episode of 'Law and Order,' and they didn't understand why I was talking so fast, and I was like, 'No, you don't understand. I was on a show called the 'Gilmore Girls.' We had to say everything like that.'

You audition, and then you go and do what's called a test, your network test. So you have to go in front of the network and do it, and the network has to sign off on you.

I received a phone call; my agent got a phone call from Ryan Murphy saying he wanted to talk to me... And he basically outlined 'American Horror Story' for me and said that there's a character named Larry the Burn Guy, and I'd like you to play it.

I auditioned for the role of Jamie Mitchell in 'EastEnders,' and it was between me and Jack Ryder, and he got it.

Starting with 'Thirteen,' my known technique is to cast the lead, then find someone with whom they have incredible chemistry.

I was the first person in the world to audition for 'The Hobbit'. The casting director told me that when I went in. That's a lot of pressure, isn't it? The first person in the world.

Somebody saw me on 'Cheers' and thought that I was an actor playing a part as opposed to a guy just doing what he knew. And they gave me 'Night Court.' And by the time they realized I wasn't an actor, I had already signed a five-year contract.

Six months after I moved to L.A., I booked the ABC pilot 'Commander-in-Chief' with Geena Davis. I played her son.

Literally, my first audition after 'The Life Aquatic' was for the 'Criminal Minds' pilot.

Woody Harrelson played a long-term love interest of Debra Messing's; I think it was for a whole season. They almost cast Nick in that part. They almost had given to him. But at the eleventh hour, Jim Burrows put in a call to Woody, and he said he would do it.

The first time I met Garry Shandling was my audition for 'The Larry Sanders Show,' with Garry and his casting director Francine Maisler. I can recall every minute of it. He was gracious and kind, and he read with me. He was terrific.