Adrian Pasdar Quotes

I went to film school so I have a writing and directing background, and I think a lot of the material I'm interested in writing and getting out there is stories about anti-heroes and people you should just not ordinarily root for - trying to figure out a way of appealing to people they wouldn't normally appeal to.

It's kind of comfortable portraying characters who are kind of unsavoury and not so nice. That can be refreshing sometimes.

It's really interesting to play someone you wouldn't want to ever spend more than a couple of drinks with - but who has redeemable characteristics.

I'm just attracted to playing people who are ostensible unlikable. That's not to say that there's something in there that makes you care. It might be that you just find them so awful that you just can't stop watching, like a car crash.

The go-to reflex all over Hollywood is still likeability. I've always had a problem with it because I think I have a weird barometer in the sense that some of the characters I've cared about the most in movies are characters that are often thought of as despicable.

The larger-than-life thing is definitely what I'm after. I've always drawn dark stories. Occasionally, I'll try a perfect hero, but it's a real stretch for me. I like 'em warts and all, and obsessive and weird.

Some of my acting heroes have built careers on playing characters who do horrendous things - they're repellent and lovable. They're not likable, but they're lovable. I think Christine is one of those characters.

I like movies that make you semi fall in love with the villain so you have sympathy for him.

Hollywood can't stand heroes who aren't sympathetic.

One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.

I like devilish, thorny, dirty, mean roles, muck and mire, unbelievably sad, unbelievably happy, burdened. Inner conflict - that's where drama is.

I love playing bad. But my whole thing is usually villains that don't know that they're evil.

I don't know why I'm drawn to anti-heroes, but I certainly am.

It's kind of fun when you're playing characters that aren't quite on the up and up and people still like you.

I don't mind playing somebody who's not likable, or makes the audience feel slightly conflicted.

I happen to still like really dark, dramatic, fractured characters. They're the reason I got into movies.

That's what makes a character interesting from an actor's perspective - the more screwed up, the better.

I haven't spent my entire career playing the guy in the bad hat, although I have to say that the bad guy is frequently much more interesting than the good guy.

I'm attracted to playing people who aren't necessarily straightforward.

The bad guys are not typical; they are not just bad, they are interesting. They might be good or bad.

I played characters with villainous aspect. But out-and-out villain? No.

You'd think a sociopath assassin wouldn't have a fan following but he does.

I always say the classier cousin of 'Anchorman' is 'Mad Men,' because when you really look at it, why do people really love Don Draper in 'Mad Men?' He's just a terrible guy. But we know why he's terrible, and I think that's really key to why you can be sympathetic to a character.

I don't really like heroes who always behave heroically. That's not interesting to me.

I loved films of the '70s with those antihero protagonists who you don't know if you can get behind because their behavior is really questionable.