Michael Pena Quotes

I have had a lot of training as an actor, but it's very different than being on set.

What's interesting about the process of acting is how often you don't know what you're doing.

I think acting can be very frustrating, and there's no experience that doesn't make you a better actor.

I've always loved acting, even from when I was a child. But when I got on stage, I realised I couldn't act my way out of a paper bag. I was wild and full of unharnessed energy, but I was around all these seasoned performers like Rita Cullis. It was as if they were all in slow motion.

I don't think I would be a good actor! People enjoyed 'Dancing With the Stars' because I was myself, and every time they told me to say something, I would say my own words, so I don't think I could follow a script well!

I was a theater actor back in the U.K., and you knew the whole play, so you could plot your storyline and character. And then I did 'Lost' and didn't know, and it was kind of frustrating, but I enjoyed it.

Practicing going over scenes and in front of the camera just to see how that feels, and then ultimately just finding a way to expose yourself to people. That's what I did.

Sometimes fake laughing is hard once you've done a scene 18 times. I don't want to brag, but I have a reputation for being very, very good at that. It's funny finding what's challenging about acting as you go.

I learned the process of this kind of acting, how things run, how chaotic it can be, and what kind of different muscles you have to flex.

I'm not a natural-born actor. So it's been a very slow learning curve for me.

All that acting and all that stuff and emoting and crap will come after you know what you're doing. So when you get - when I get on stage, I don't have to think about it.

Having done a lot of theater, I'm used to sustaining characters over long periods of time.

As an actor, I've grown considerably. It's taken me years to get comfortable doing a romantic scene and dancing on stage in front of a live audience. I've really opened up a lot.

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 definitely think it exercises an interesting muscle, auditioning for bad parts and trying to figure out how to make it real. I don't know what I'm talking about now.

The trick to acting is not to show off; it's to think the thoughts of the character. I was lucky because when I started acting, it was doing jobs above pubs. I learned to act in anonymity, so by the time people saw me, I knew what I was doing. I was crap for years, but no one saw me being crap. It's a trade you learn.

You can be in an acting class all you want, but you don't fully learn until you get off that stage and in front of a camera.

The first time I thought I should be an actor was in school. I thought, 'At least this is something for which I won't have to study.' But I've realised that an actor needs to be constantly unsure about what he's doing and about what's going on around him. The moment you think you've nailed it, you're dead.

I recommend doing some sort of acting class, something that can eventually get you in front of an agent or a manager, and practice is very important.

I like doing small parts, because I don't feel I'm that practised in acting. It's like making baby steps towards a bigger goal.

Like any other actor, I draw on life experience.

I think if you're an actor, then you can work on stage - but if you've never done it before, you're going to have picked up a few things that you're going to need to change when you're working on stage.

The big gap between the ability of actors is confidence.

Most of my training at graduate school was geared towards drama, so I feel good about it, and I can do it, but it requires a lot more work from me. I feel like with drama... well, with all acting, really, you need to honor the truth of the situation.

I've always been fairly confident in my acting.