Mickey Rourke Quotes

When I wanted to be an actress, I never wanted really to be the kind of actress I became.

I think most actors don't start out wanting to be either a lead or a character actor. You just really want to work, whatever manifestation that takes.

It was actually my older brother who wanted to start acting. He would point at the TV as a kid and tell my mom he wanted to do it, and he would act his favorite scenes from 'Home Alone.'

Most young actors, that's all they're trying to do: Get better at acting and be able to keep doing it. And that doesn't work out for most people.

I didn't start out to be a movie star. I started out to be an actor.

Being an actor in L.A. is like being in prison: you go, you serve your time, you try to replicate Johnny Depp's career - and then you move to Paris.

I was 11 and watching soap operas with my mom, and I thought it would be cool to be an actor. I thought soap operas was going to be the dream at the time - it's obviously now not the dream, but I think soap operas are really cool. Maybe I'll go back to that.

I had been doing all my school plays, elementary school, middle school, and high school, and then summer. I'd wanted to act for a long time, and I thought I was going to go to college and do theater, go that route. But 'Superbad' kind of fell on my lap. I was very, very lucky for that.

Wanting to be an actor and wanting to be famous are different.

I had done some commercial work in junior high and stuff - my mother would bring me into the city, and we'd go on these crazy castings. Acting was something I always dreamed of doing... it was my passion when I was young.

I didn't want to be an actress at all, or famous even. I certainly enjoy acting now, absolutely. Time will tell whether or not I enjoy fame.

A lot of actors know they want to be actors a little bit earlier on. I didn't even really start studying until I was about 22.

I have never struggled for anything in my life because I never thought I will be an actress. Film just walked up to my house with 'Abodh.'

I don't have that drive to be in this field, climbing up, doing bit parts in movies to make a big movie. But I'm lucky I get to also do acting - it's fun. I should probably just take an acting class on the weekends - that would be enough for me.

I became an actor, and because I had success as an actor, I became famous. I was acting for quite a while before I got famous; television made me famous. I guess that it's television that is responsible for everybody's desire to be famous.

There are definitely roles within this industry that are industry-related, but to be a good actor, you really have to want to act first. At the same time, my goal was never to go to Hollywood to make movies. I think if you come here with that attitude, then you've missed a few steps.

I just want to keep acting and better my craft and see how far it goes.

I don't want to say, 'I want to be in Hollywood,' like so many actors do, but I know that Hollywood is still making good movies, and I'd like to be part of that someday.

I want to be the best actor that I can be; I want to be working in this business absolutely, and if that means being a movie star, then OK, that's fine. But to me, movie star, celebrity, all that stuff means something very different than being an actor.

When I initially started acting, all I wanted to do was to be in one movie. That's it. That was my goal.

My job isn't about pursuing fame and then becoming an actor. It's about becoming an actor, and if fame follows suit, that's fine.

When I got 'Family Ties', I wasn't even thinking about being an actress. I thought I might become a window dresser.

I'd done about 10 movies before I decided I wanted to make acting the main thrust of my career.

Decide very early on: do you want to be an actor or do you want to be famous? Because they're very different routes.

I recognize how lucky I am as an actor. I've been working as an actor since I was 9 years old.