Ellie Kemper Quotes

The first time I did a school play was the first time I felt I was good at anything at all. I just loved it.

I went down to Chicago to try to go into a place called Second City. I auditioned for that and got in pretty quickly, but I couldn't stop partying. They gave me a warning: 'If you do it again, we're gonna kick you off the main stage.'

In college, I pretty much abandoned music and started performing with the school's improv and sketch troupe, and at some point, that became my permanent thing.

As I got older, I auditioned for drama school and shocked myself by getting in.

I started doing improv in college, and I really liked it.

I've done lots of improv things but not a whole movie.

Even when I was at 'SNL,' I didn't do impersonations. I always wanted to be the kind of person who could do them - I always thought they were the coolest thing on the show - but I didn't have any experience.

Auditions are just torture. I'm trying to get better at it. It's a very difficult thing to do. You go into a tiny room with a camera with somebody who is doing this with 100 other people, and they're so bored, and then you have to be like, 'Hey! I'm gonna show you what I got!'

If you can jump up onstage and make people laugh, shouldn't you also be able to inhabit a character?

I always go in with the feeling that I'm gonna have a good time in what I'm doing. I entertain myself when I perform. If I do that, then I can see the other performers enjoying my character.

Taking improv has helped every other aspect of my field.

Youth theatre isn't just about a precocious child that wants to sing and dance in front of people. It's for everyone; it's about a community, it's about being supported by your peer group. You learn skills - not just acting but all the other sides - working in the TV, film, and theatre industry.

I love working with other actors and other people - you know, stand-up - it's lonely; it's just you out there and the audience. But it's fun working with other actors. I love doing that, too.

I did get to hang out with my dad for a little while. I went with him to summer stock. I watched him be a real king of the world. He'd ship out as a star in summer stock. He sometimes directed the shows. I learned a lot from him - not just about acting, but about everything, how to handle a woman.

I've been doing improv since high school, and I've been getting paid for it since I was 20.

I never went on auditions because I would be terrible at it, so I just did stand-up.

Being on stage taught me how to apply eyeliner.

You've got to believe in yourself that you will get the runs for your team.

Finally, the day came where I put stuff online for the first time ever. The Lil Dicky video got a million views the first day. It was one of the best days of my life. It was the day I learned I was who I thought I was. It was a fantastic I-told-you-so moment.

I took a class at The Second City, and it became contagious.

I want to bring UCB to England. We don't have anything like it.

We tried to do a show once every three weeks to a month. We'd always do a new show. It was not successful. It did not become the Matt & Ben show, but it taught me what I like to do as an actor and what I like to do comedically.

A lot of times, as a clown, you find acting for a reason. It's a way to exercise yourself. If you're funny, you test yourself.

Now when I get auditions, I choose to believe that I am an amazing actor.

I'll tell you what makes a great manager: A great manager has a knack for making ballplayers think they are better than they think they are. He forces you to have a good opinion of yourself. He lets you know he believes in you.