Leo Kottke Quotes

People think I look odd onstage. But the way I deal with being incredibly nervous is by concentrating really hard.

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

There's nothing about the stage to be afraid of; there's nothing about the cameras to be afraid of. You just have to be yourself.

In high school, I was too shy to perform. It's one thing to get laughs from your family, to be funny at parties and in class. It's another thing to get up on the stage.

When I'm on stage, that's me. It's blown up, but that's me.

For me, there's no dichotomy between being shy or a performer, because I think it's more a way of slightly presenting a version of things to the world.

Getting up in front of an audience is my biggest motivation.

As a kid, I was really shy. Technically I am still, but when I'm performing I want everybody to listen.

I always felt like my future was at stake every time I stepped on stage and that was kind of hair-raising. At some point I just went, don't be frightened, you can't do anything wrong, it's your show.

I'm not the person in person that I am on stage.

Nobody was listening when I learned how to play music. But there's something about being on stage, talking to the audience, looking at them and smiling, that's always been difficult for me. I'm a lot more comfortable now, but there are still moments of awkwardness.

I always thought I was a little shy, especially compared to my brother and my sister, but I guess I was always the kid doing performances in the front room.

I've been told to speed up my delivery when I perform. But if I lose the stammer, I'm just another slightly amusing accountant.

And when I perform on my own tour, I have to talk myself into going out on that stage every single night.

The first time onstage, a light went on. 'OK, this is my thing. I'm comfortable here. This is my thing.'

As a little girl, I was always shy, but in front of the camera I wasn't.

I still sweat bullets if I go on The Tonight Show, but I tell myself, You can either have fun tonight or you can be shy and miserable. You ask my friends or anyone I work with now - nobody would say I was shy.

I was terribly shy and never said anything in class. Then I started getting into school plays. When you've got words to say, you've got a sort of armour.

I had a kind of artrock band called Peanut for a while, which eventually helped me over my fear of singing. That was a big step for me. I never dreamed I could sing songs in front of people.

For me anyway, until I was exposed to doing improvisation and walking onto a stage without any script, I would have never felt comfortable enough to walk into a room with someone like Larry David and audition.

I'm actually pretty shy in real life. But I guess in front of the camera, I focus.

I like getting up in front of an audience. It's fun when you go to a baseball game and the crowd is cheering you. I can't deny it. And it's very funny, too. Sometimes you're shy; you go somewhere and everyone's looking at you, so you feel a little self-conscious.

I don't consider myself to be incredibly confident, or really lacking in confidence. When you're on Jonathan Ross' or Graham Norton's show, inevitably there's something to sell. And there's a live audience; you're sat between Cameron Diaz and Tinie Tempah - I don't really see it as 'me.' It would be odd if it was.

Onstage I have a natural chutzpa that audiences like. I'm out there.

I don't feel nervous or fearful when I'm on stage.