John Schlesinger Quotes

I've done performances in movies that I was immensely proud of and the movies didn't take off like a rocket at Cape Canaveral, it didn't take off.

When I come offstage, if I've done a bad show or had a bad night, the fact that everybody was standing at the end or three or four times during the show means nothing to me. I know I could have done a better show.

I'm always nervous! Especially when it comes to a series like 'Disgaea', where you do have such a devoted fan base, the last thing you want to do is disappoint. But I love playing bad guys and just always hope that fans will be forgiving if I miss the mark.

I don't like to read reviews. Even the good ones you start to analyze: 'Oh, did I do that? I have to make sure I do that again.'

In film, there's this kind of constant fear that you're going to be doing too much. That may be an unfounded fear because I love sizable performances on film, especially when they're by performers who push the boundaries of what people deem the right kind of size.

All actors are self-critical.

I'm never happy about anything, playing-wise. I always think there's things I messed up on, things I should've done differently that could've, A, made us win, or B, made the win easier.

Every time I watch a performance, I'm disgusted with how I've skated. It's very hurtful for me.

I was actually really happy with where my game was at. That's probably the most disappointing aspect.

As a comedian, you're making so many observations, so many measurements. You might catch someone's eyes as you're telling a joke, and they can have this sort of glazed expression on their face, and that can set all your dials off.

Many times after a game, I get the feeling that I have not done enough, I should have done better, of course there is room for improvement.

I am notoriously hard on myself in terms of working on new material and while I am critical of my performance on the Led Zeppelin material, I am way more critical of my own stuff. I'm pretty hard on myself.

The problem with being an actress is there's a lot of rejection.

If I make a mistake and finish 10th when we should have finished ninth, then I will be unhappy.

The most pressure I've ever felt to be brilliant was in drama school - those were the toughest auditions. I really wanted to prove myself.

As an actress, nobody is sure these days whether something is going to be successful or not. I tried to always have a good time on set because of that reason. Even if people didn't like it, at least you had a good time.

I'm just really interested, when a band plays and they think they sucked from a band perspective.

As an actor, I felt nervous only during the release of my film. When I became a director, the anxious moments started once the editing work began.

At the start of every season, I always asked myself - am I meeting my own standards? Can I still do it? I didn't want to come to the conclusion that I couldn't during a season.

It's weird to take your work into a room and everybody reads it. Then comes the terror part, the dissection.

I do get nervous and excited whenever I do a film.

I had intense anxiety, just with the acting and expectations. Am I good enough for this? This is so big. I'm on the cover of four magazines right now. Am I worthy of this? You question everything about yourself, and I did that. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I had the body and all of that.

I didn't even know what I did in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape'. I just went off with whatever I felt instinctually without a second thought.

A flutist who is moved to tears by his own performance will soon make the listeners laugh because of the sounds that he produces.

Why would you get up there and bore people? I never have figured that out. These people are supposedly in the entertainment industry, and they finally get up there to that podium and they become the most boring people in the world.