John Mulaney Quotes

After doing the first couple scenes and I got used to being in front of a few people it got easier and easier. In Chasing Amy, I wasn't nervous at all. And in Dogma, the same.

Not once in my life have I done theatre. Being on stage is not my thing.

I liked being on stage; I just didn't like the theatrical aspect of being in front of people.

'Dogfight' was everything wonderful and terrifying about a show, and I feel it 1,000% gave me the knowledge and the confidence that I could do this. I can step up and be present enough to command scenes with amazing actors.

My acting is atrocious, to say the least. But I've found that it's not acting that people are concerned about, it's your presence.

I haven't found a comfortable place onstage. I'm sure it doesn't have to be comfortable, but I'm very nervous, so I don't enjoy myself.

I actually think it's helped me as a writer to have to act. It's only when you actually start putting yourself out that you appreciate the anxiety that comes with having to try to sell a line, or with trying to own a character.

I think the more you do this and the more comfortable you become on stage, you start speaking more and becoming more of a character in yourself.

I am so used to being up on stage and talking to my fans that it's strange to be on stage and be someone else. I can't look at the audience during 'In the Heights' or I will start talking to them.

Going out on a stage publicly and not knowing how people are going to react to you - once I experienced that, it made me feel much more comfortable about going into a scene.

I'm a very shy person, and I never tried to do theater. I've been asked many, many times by the most incredible authors in America to do theater. And I always said no, not knowing what it is to be on the stage and to do theater.

I'm used to being in front of camera and knowing what to think. But if you're asking me to be me, I get very self-conscious. My job isn't to be me. Being an actor, people think you can do a eulogy at a funeral, a speech at a wedding. I find all that very nerve-racking.

I think if I were to go back on stage I might be in great danger of acting.

I feel so much at home onstage and so comfortable in my body.

I need to do more on stage. I've got to get my fix!

There's nowhere to hide in the theatre. You can't be the one in rehearsal who doesn't know their lines.

The more you perform and get out there, I guess the more practice you have at it and the better you are and the more comfortable you are on stage.

I become a better actor after I step on a stage in front of, like, 500 people when it's just me, a microphone and my guitar. You don't get as nervous walking into a room in front of 3 or 4 people and to do a scene or to walk on a set. You gain confidence.

I did Shakespeare in college, and the nerves I got doing Shakespeare are the same nerves I get doing 'Mad Men.' I want to get the dialogue just spot-on.

On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact.

I haven't been on the stage in a long time.

I love being onstage and I love to perform. To be honest with you, I'm more comfortable performing than I am in an everyday situation, which I can't quite explain.

Well, as you know, I'm really only happy when I'm on stage.

In the summer after sixth grade, I took a class at St. Robert Bellarmine. My first role, I was the villain in a play, and I forgot all my lines. I think I cried my way through the performance.

I've got to be comfortable when I'm on stage.