Dan Trachtenberg Quotes

I don't know how to be like a Bill Murray or a Will Ferrell, these guys who know how to make a line funny just by, I don't know, some extra-sense perception. I only know character and emotion and real acting; that's all I know how to do.

Joan Cusack is one of my favorite comedic actresses, and every part she plays is so different. She does the wackiest stuff and somehow it works. I like watching her a lot, and I think you can always go further and pull back. That's something I really have to work on.

Whether it's a double take or a spit take or an extra-long pause before a reaction or a line, I try to be as cognizant as possible about the technical end of it. So I think the physical stuff works easier for me than maybe for others who are more just going on instinct.

I'm a quite serious actor who doesn't mind being ridiculously comic.

There are very few actors who are truly good at improvising; that's a real skill.

I do enjoy doing action quite clearly, but I also really like doing comedy.

There's something about Michael J. Fox that I loved when he did all the '80s stuff. His way of performing all the physicality, which is why it's so tragic now, but the way he used his body so much as well, I loved.

Don Knotts was a really big influence, especially on the Steve Allen show. I mean, look at the guy, his entire life is in his face.

I consider myself a character actor.

I love doing comedy, and I don't get a chance to much. I get to play lots of serious people, and killers, and people with a lot of... sheriffs. Good people and bad people, but lots of drama, and to get a chance to be genuinely silly is a great treat for me.

There are some actresses that can't do comedy; it's too heavy-handed.

So the laughs had to come from the character, not because we had balloons in our shirts or were speaking in high voices. That was very important to us.

Molly Shannon and I used to always talk about that we really felt strongly that we were comedic actors, that we weren't comedians. You just played things real and the comedy came out of the context.

I just play him as myself, I don't ease myself into any role really. I stick a beard on and play me.

Comedy's my first love. I love that so much. You play comedy in drama, too. The difference between genres doesn't really change the method of acting.

For better or worse, I have a lot of vaudeville circus skills that you just can't showcase in Aaron Sorkin's work.

My portrayal of Fagin was all to do with my experience in comedy and revue.

I'm a character actor; that's my skill set.

If you can jump up onstage and make people laugh, shouldn't you also be able to inhabit a character?

My natural self is John Goodman. If I relaxed, I'd be him.

Dick Van Dyke was my first idol. He's an amazing physical comedian, like a classic clown, but also very smart and not afraid to show vulnerability.

I don't laugh so much at jokes and premises as I do at a guy who goes onstage and starts twitching and acting funny.

I got to work with Rachel Dratch, and she just had such a funny, roll-with-it attitude when she would approach the stage and could turn anything into a gem.

I remember seeing Amy Sedaris in a stint where she played somebody's alcoholic mother in one scene and in the next she was Ross Perot. I remember thinking she was so awesome.

I'm not a good improv-er, which is what a lot of comedic actors are really good at. I have failed miserably when I've been asked to improvise.