Michael McKean Quotes

I had to examine myself very thoroughly to find the right path personally.

Many a time I have wanted to stop talking and find out what I really believed.

I'm quite influenced in this by one of my heroes, Montaigne, who thought a man's real task was to render as honest an account of himself as he could.

One of the things that I've come to understand is that as I talk a lot about Picard, what I find is that I'm talking about myself.

People should ask themselves why is it that they want to act.

Rejection should ignite soul-searching, and the soul-searching must be absolutely honest.

One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.

When I read profiles of myself, I sometimes think: 'I have spent my whole life struggling to understand my motivations and impulses, and I've never quite sorted them out.'

I study myself more than any other subject. That is my metaphysics, that is my physics.

Testing of self is a regular part of our own lives, so it seems natural to make it a part of the lives of my characters, as well, albeit on a much different level.

I think a lot of Magnum was me.

The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man's own eyes when they look upon his own person.

I don't mind finding these ugly sides to my personality and exaggerating them because that's something you can write towards.

I'm trying to figure myself out through my movies. Whether it's big stuff like what we're doing here, or little stuff like, 'Why aren't I happier?' With every film I feel like I'm apologising for something. I feel I'm most successful when I'm looking for something that embarrasses me about my character that I'd like to expose.

I sometimes find that in interviews you learn more about yourself than the person learned about you.

My life. The life I'm living that's where all my inspiration comes from. Real life experiences.

I think we all strive to push ourselves, to overcome our struggles. And when we do, we get to know ourselves better.

I try to figure out how much of the character I can find in myself because you don't want to get outside of your skill-set.

I think it's healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself, and challenge yourself; it's important to do that.

I think you're always trying to figure yourself out and mistakes that you've made.

What I use when I'm acting comes from what I learn about myself.

Spend time in your head and figure yourself out. Start taking note of all the things you do that you don't like, and then you're more conscious of it, and you learn.

I think 'Lost Boy' is more of a metaphor for oneself. When I listen to that song, I don't picture someone else. I kind of wrote it from a very honest place.

You have to be willing to expose yourself, at least to yourself, to get to some kind of truth about a character.

If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both.