Denis Leary Quotes

The really courageous and bold thing is to make movies about human behaviour.

'Heroes', 'Desperate Housewives', 'The Sopranos' - they're all very stylised. 'The Wire' is much more rooted in realism and honesty. In American television, I can't think of anything I'd rather have been in because it has got something to say and that is the kind of thing I want to do.

As an actor, you want new challenges. U.S. TV can be very formulaic. So when something gets a reaction, as 'The Slap' has, that's great. The sense I get is that it's not about me or my performance. More than anything it's the subject matter that people are focused on.'

'Mad Men' is the greatest example of a perfect cast uniting with a perfect group of writers and creators to create a show that is bold, brutal, and brilliant.

Fiction is socially meaningful.

Working on the 'Ice Age' movies, I'm really proud to be in them.

The best cinema is about ethics.

I know that movies are basically meant to be entertainment, but I'm not that interested in entertainment.

What made 'Ice Age' work is that it had its shiny candy coatings, but inside was a soft, creamy center.

I think indie films are really important, because they show the studios and the audiences when they see them, great stories. Really interesting, small stories.

The social dimension of the art world is fascinating to me, but I also want to entertain the reader, so I will let a character say something funny.

As an actor, my desire was always to be different, there was a desire to associate yourself with projects that bring about the contemporary situation.

I like to go to the movies and watch characters who make me question how I see the world.

One of my biggest influences, of course, is David Simon and his work on 'The Wire.'

The purpose of making a successful film is to blend entertainment with social content.

'The Slap' is not like anything else. It's an incredibly well-written novel that has been turned into a great and intriguing series that reveals both less and more about each character than you learn in the book. It's a novel that has been given a second chance to live.

Characters work really well when they're reflective of the times that they're operating in.

Fiction is organized gossip.

I don't design stories to fit some political ideology. I design stories about characters who I love and care about, while trying to make sense of an increasingly mad and toxic and insane world.

My films are personal-voice-driven films about human characters and the place we live. Technically, I'm an independent filmmaker.

The book says, 'Vanity Fair - a story without a hero.' Becky is effectively the protagonist, the hero we follow. But she is flawed. Becky is a subject of her own time.

I started out with V Shantaram. But my favourite director has been Gulzar, with whom I did intelligent cinema in movies like 'Khushboo,' 'Kinara' and 'Parichay.'

I really care more about the human drama than I do the thriller stuff.

Even the best novelists are rarely congratulated on the quality of their observations about contemporary life.

My thoughts on Eminem have always been that he is one of the greatest lyricists ever. I've never been a fan because I can't relate to a lot of his world views and experiences, but I acknowledge that he's one of the greatest MCs.