Nestor Carbonell Quotes

You have to avoid caricature, at the one end of the spectrum, and sentimentality, at the other; which is not to say that such characters shouldn't be funny part of the time, or that their actions shouldn't evoke genuine feeling.

Comedy and drama are different sides of the same coin. And the thing about comedy and drama is about likability. It's about character first. It's about story. And for me, it's about empathy, and I think the realer someone is, the further you can go either way with them.

I approach a comedy the same way I do a drama. I try to make it as real as possible.

I love the powerful woman who's complicated. There's no push to be one thing or another thing. It's all human. That's what you look for as an actor: characters written and portrayed in the most human way possible.

I think it's natural if you're doing a lot of comedy to do a lot of drama, because you have to figure out the real version of the joke.

Tragedy without comedy is melodrama, and comedy without a higher purpose is vacant.

A comic book and a straight drama all have the same elements. If you're playing tragedy, you have to be aware of the comedy; if you're playing comedy, you have to be aware of the tragedy. If you're playing comic book, you have to be aware of the reality.

I love down-and-dirty and grit. But I do think that my favorite dramas are ones that are dark comedies because I think that the only way the audience and the actor can really go as dark and deep as you may want to go is if there's some levity added to it.

In my own work, humor is necessary, for the reasons stated above, but also because forbidding your characters silliness, absurdity, irony, and vulgarity forbids them aspects of the human experience every bit as universal as sorrow.

If you're going to play strength, you've got to marry that with a vulnerability and give your character some relatable qualities.

I really think if you take away a character's obstacles then there's no comedy.

I really realize the more movies I do just how important - it's so cliche when people say it, because everybody says it nowadays - but it's so important to keep it grounded. I totally understand what that means.

'Funny People' is my favorite performance of myself to date. Even though it's a comedy and there are serious moments, I really felt like Leo felt like a real person. It didn't feel like I was playing myself. Whether it's a comedy or drama, I just try to make it as realistic as possible.

Our job is to represent the truth of human nature, whether you're playing a tender love story that's set in a coffee shop or whether you're in 'The Avengers,' which is set in a Manhattan which is exploding.

I wanted to do different movies. I wanted to do deeper movies. More human movies based on human feelings.

We're all complex human beings, and if some of that complexity shows through, I think it's advantageous for the movie.

Perfect heroes are cool, but no one can really empathize or identify with them.

Well, I just wanted to be a person. I just wanted them to keep writing me as humanistic as possible.

The big difference with Juliette and the others in that film is that she goes beyond acting.

It's something that people relate to - and I hope my kid doesn't relate to - but there's a level of believability in playing complex characters. You know, Christopher Walken has done some hilarious comedies, De Niro. There's great room for complexity and darkness to do well in comedies.

Even when I'm playing a lawyer or a doctor, I want to play a person. A human being.

I just like playing interesting, complex, complicated characters. I like films that also have an element of humor.

I think on 'Third Watch' that I was the comic relief on a lot of that. I mean, I definitely had dark moments, but people tended to think he was funny even if the character himself wasn't having a fun time.

My goal as an actor was just to be somebody very human. I'm not really interested in playing a character who is particularly cool and everything he does looks great and turns out great.

When I'm doing a drama, I like to find the comedy; when I'm doing a comedy, I like to find the heart and drama.