John Mulaney Quotes

Comedy will always be central to what I do, it's just an instinct for me, but I am a writer and always have been.

It's funny, the hardest thing to do is to make something look like it's fast, loose and improvised, and get somebody to laugh.

With comedy, you really want to work things out beforehand.

If something strikes me as funny, I'll put it in my performance.

I come from a much freer kind of performance thing, where I rely on my own improv and my own sense of humor.

I've had some shows where I really plan out what I'm going to say. Then I've had other shows where I'm like, 'Take a sip of the Ole Smoky Moonshine and just let it be natural and cross your fingers that you say the right things.'

A mimicry artiste should be spontaneous and he should be able to crack jokes on the spot.

I'm used to sort of improvising a lot when I do my comedies.

I'm more interested in - I was going to say putting on an interesting show, but then when I think about it, it's more like putting on several interesting shows. I think I'm more interested in doing funny things than calculating how I'll best be received.

I come from standup and improv.

The skill of a good actor is to make it always seem like you're in that fantastically spontaneous moment. Very often, a stand-up comedian has a different instinct, which is to reinvent. Once you've laid down some material, and made them laugh, you move on and find some new material.

Improvisation is about finding the best joke or the silliest way to get something across. Improvising conflict is always fun because you can just go for it.

I always loved comedy but I didn't start formally until I was in college.

But comedy I'd love to do as much as humanly possible.

I think my goal was just to do comedy, honestly. It still is. Whatever form that took or takes, it doesn't matter.

I would love to do some more comedy. I would love to do some silliness. I would love to do some characters that have greater vulnerability.

I enjoy the work I do in comedies. It's a valid test of your creative abilities.

Comedy is what I really want to do and propel.

To be a comedian, you gotta jokesmith, there's no way around it.

The best timed joke or the best timed phrase comes at spontaneous moments and just relies on me as the host to be very quick, and that's what I do.

I love comedy, and I think that's sort of what comes naturally to me.

I was a bit of a goofball. I was always silly. I think that lends itself to being an actor.

Creating a wonderful drama is an art form, while comedy is just entertainment.

Comedy was something I picked up trying to perfect my art through spoken word. I got on YouTube just to show off my poetry, and then people thought I was funny, so I ran with it.

Comedy is not something that a person can fake or learn how to do.