Jerry Van Dyke Quotes

I've always considered myself an actor, but I wasn't making a living as an actor.

I'm exceedingly proud of being an actor, but I never recommend it to anyone.

Actors can't retire. If actors retired, there would be nobody left to play old, wrinkly people. You have to keep going, darling - don't you?

I'm sure it's not great fun for them, or for any parent, when their child says they want to be an actor, 'cos it's quite an uncertain business and it can be terribly hard for most actors.

I'm a grinding actor. That's how I've always viewed myself. You go from one job to the next.

It's not like suddenly, when you become a working actor all your friends are in the same situation. I have friends who are still handing out flyers for their one-woman show and trying to make ends meet.

I grew up in a family of actors. I grew up onstage. The choice for me wasn't, 'Do I want to be an actor or not?' I always felt like that's just ingrained in you, the need to perform. The choice was, 'Do you want to do this professionally or not?'

My father has been an actor since 1964. Things were tight a lot of the times, financially. It wasn't like a big romantic adventure.

It's always difficult to work out on location, away from home, but that's the actor's life. You go where the work is.

I'll just put it this way: I've struggled enough as a working actor - and, most of the times, a not working actor - to know that anytime you are working is a blessing.

I was a struggling actor all my life.

I think of being an actor as a blue-collar profession.

I've been on the stage my entire life as an actor.

I stopped acting when I was about nineteen, twenty, when I got thrown out of college. I did act for about ten years. I don't know. I suspect I'm still a reasonably good actor, but I don't really know that I want to get on the stage again ... and having to say all those boring words by me over and over again ... I don't know if I want to do that. Also, I like a certain amount of freedom of movement, and if you're acting, you're stuck in one place for a long time. Having said that, I will probably be onstage next fall.

I slowly came to realize that this job of being an actor, you spend most of your time looking for work. That is your job. Your job is auditioning. You spend very little of your time actually working.

I'm an actor, I'm always looking for work. I was born to do that.

At the end of the day, what actors really want to do is act a lot and not wait around in the trailer.

I don't even want to think of myself as an actor because it's such an insecure place to go.

I was born and raised in New York and I'm of an age where I want to just be home. But, you know, when you sign up to be an actor it's like joining the circus and the circus is not always going to be in your hometown.

Actor is an odd profession, and sometimes people get jealous, but I haven't really experienced any of that. Everyone's been really happy for me, which is really, really great.

Acting is an empty and useless profession.

I would love to work on Broadway, but I don't know that it would manifest itself in musical theater.... I have terrible stage fright that I'd have to get over.

My parents are proud of me being an actor.

Theater is a really exciting place to return to all the time because it's incredible training for an actor.

I think there are a lot of actors who act because they have an impulse to do it and they can't ignore it.