J. B. Smoove Quotes

Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art.

I turned down as many roles that I thought were beyond my abilities as I did ones I thought weren't good enough.

In my career, there have been roles I haven't taken because someone involved with the project gave me a bad vibe. I don't care how much money is on the table: No job is worth feeling uneasy every day.

My point of view as a writer has to be a lot more ego-less than just like being some performer on stage with a hairdo.

Over the years, I was never really driven to become a solo artist, but I was curious to find out who I was as an individual creative person. It's taken some time, but now I feel I've truly paid my dues. I guess I'm at a point now where I'm more comfortable in my own skin.

I've never done any nudity, but I would do basically anything if a role called for it.

I have to live authentically at all times. And that's part of what makes me an artist. I'm not scared to do that.

I have done some tacky films, but then they were all my decisions, and I'm happy to have made those because they have made me who I am.

I'd rather say no and have said no and do say no often. I walk away from projects if it doesn't feel right; if it's not the right team of people pulling in together or if the script isn't right. It could be a great idea but the script doesn't work.

I left because I could no longer make records that sounded less and less like me. I tried to please people instead of believing in my own strength, until the only thing I could do was walk away.

Matisse was very clear about saying that you have to blow your own trumpet and explain yourself, which I think has been slightly forgotten.

You can't intellectually purge yourself of who you are. Whatever that is, it's going to come out in the wash, the film wash. What you are is going to be relevant, if not to yourself, to the movies you make.

I've been making music for a long time, but I've been waiting to do it right, because I don't want people to think it's just a stepping stone in my career. A lot of actors go that route as a way of building their careers. I don't want it to be seen as that.

People see that I have my own voice, my own opinion, my own likes. The album really reflects that.

I feel like everything I make is personal to me.

I wondered how people would take me being a country music singer. I thought about deviating from that and singing other things. But... it doesn't really make sense for me to try to be something that I'm not.

On one level, I must never lose touch with my audience. But I must, at some point, stop trying to get everybody to like me, and be true to the thing I think I need to say.

I don't care how big a director is; if I hear that he's miserable to work with, I'm not going to do it. I'm not gonna be in misery for two months because it's a good career move.

There have been moments when I was on a modeling job, and it was the most fantastic thing in the world. And there have been moments where I've realized, 'Okay, I'm ten years old, and I've spent the past six hours outside in the rain.' It taught me how to be specific about what kinds of projects I wanted to do and what kind of work I wanted to do.

When I won the Oscar, I fell into that mind-set that this is a precious role. People everywhere were shouting, 'Show me the money!' I just didn't want anything that could parody the fact that I was like a tagline in a movie. So when Steven Spielberg offered me 'Amistad,' I said no; when 'Hotel Rwanda' came along, I said no.

You don't go make 'Schizopolis' if you're trying to protect some idea of yourself as a filmmaker.

I didn't want to be taken advantage of and burnt out in the industry. I worked with my family really closely, so I was able to get that respect in the industry. So now I feel that I can let my guard down. People know who I am; I can be myself. I can be more versatile, and I can wear what I want.

I've been very aware with the fact that being in the public eye, being on TV, being cast on 'Total Divas,' I'm setting myself out there for criticism, but I have to know in my heart, what I know is right.

I learned a lot from Elvis. He never took his image seriously. So many performers today put their image before themselves. It can ruin them. Like Elvis, I never took my image seriously.

I hate publicity. The only publicity must be through my work. I can only talk about myself in relation to work. I know about work - but I don't know about me.