Joel Stein Quotes

As a child, I was so deeply insecure.

I used to have acne when I was a kid growing up. You can imagine how serious that was in making you feel bad. And I had skinny bow legs. I mean, as a kid growing up, I was an insecure fella.

I was not very strong growing up, and my uncle used to look at me, like, 'This kid is not growing up, he is growing tall but he can be broken like a banana.' The banana in Congo is called 'Dikembe.' So my uncle start calling me, 'Dikembe, Dikembe, look at you Dikembe, you cannot even stand up.' It took a long time for me to walk.

Ever since I was a child, I have loved being the centre of attention, but similarly, I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't battled with all sorts of quandaries, fears and weaknesses.

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. And I'm really sensitive, so I take even small mistakes as huge ones.

Am I ever gonna grow thick skin? No.

As a young man, I craved fame. I was trying to fix holes in my soul that were there from childhood.

At the core of every person or belief, there's a pain and a thorn. There's always something, whether it's a physical thing, a health thing, or an I wish I had someone or something in my life thing. We all know some level of pain, so I like to see the ugliness of characters. It's a side that we show, only when we strip down in the bathroom mirror.

I have given my all Funny how you could always make me feel small

Four be the things I'd have been better without: love, curiosity, freckles and doubt.

Growing up as a little kid, I wasn't always this size. I got picked on a lot.

You?' is all I can manage to choke out. 'Always me,' she replies softly, bashfully. 'Who else?

It's the scariest thing in the world, going to acting class, because first of all, there's a lot of pressure. I just go back to being that fourth grader who couldn't, like, sit still in her seat.

A lot can change because you are embarrassed by something.

I don't like feeling vulnerable. I think my mum and dad's divorce affected me more than I let on.

Everyone fears rejection.

I think you're not a human being unless you have doubts and fears.

I was wracked with insecurity.

I think I'm extremely vulnerable and that in some ways I seek out rejection. Never feeling like you're getting that pat on the back from dad is probably at the heart of that.

There has been a lot of self-doubt and unwelcome events in my life.

I too have my own demons, and I have struggled. I've made my own mistakes, and I'm not proud of them.

I internalize everything, keep everything inside. I'm not used to spilling my guts, and when you have to do that on film to make a point, it's hard. It's rough. I don't think it's as easy as people think.

I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.

I always told, Sandra Bullock was my student when she was younger, I always told her it's important that we hold on to our insecurity, the wisdom of insecurity.

When I was younger, I used to be super, super shy. I still find myself being scared of things.