Philip Baker Hall Quotes

I'd been going up for things, but I hadn't got anything, and then 'Anne Frank' came out, and there was a sudden flurry. I got a call saying they wanted to see me at the Globe, which was incredible because I'd been coming here since I was 12.

The day after I got an agent, I got called in for a role in a TV movie called 'Legion Of Fire: Killer Ants.'

Before that film, I was nobody. Each job I got, I was so excited. Each paycheck I got, I thought, 'Wow, I'm getting paid to act.' But 'The Matrix' gave me so many opportunities. Everything I've done since then has been because of that experience. It gave me so much.

I did the plays in middle school. I was cast as a gate in my fourth grade play, and every year I got a bigger role. Then, in 7th grade, I played Smike in 'Nicholas Nickleby,' and the casting director saw me and asked me to audition for a movie. That movie led to me getting 'Moonrise Kingdom.'

With 'The Leftovers,' I was actually super, super lucky. It was my first major audition. When I came out, the casting director was kissing me on the face, and I was like, 'Oh, that's probably a good sign.'

'Mad Men' has been my big break. I'm beyond thrilled.

The first audition my manger sent me on was 'The Hunger Games,' and I got the role.

My big break was really Liz Meriwether saw me in a movie called 'Paper Heart' and really liked it, and then saw me in a movie called 'Ceremony' because she knew Max Winkler and said, 'I want you to be in 'No Strings Attached,' but you gotta audition for it.' From that it was easier for her to get me in 'New Girl.'

All this flying around got on my nerves. But then I gave the script to Cathy to get her opinion. When she started to laugh, it was like 'That's it!'. I went to LA and I got the part.

I used to do a Saturday drama group called Young Blood Theatre Company with school-friends in west London - nothing to do with my mum and dad. A casting director came to pick people out for a new BBC children's series called 'MI High.' She picked me, I auditioned, and I got the job.

The 'ER' role was not Asian-specific, and my agent knew that I loved the show.

David Lynch saw my picture in a casting agent's office in Seattle. I got a call to see him, and the rest is history.

When 'The Master' came around, they said they wanted to try and find a part for me, and I got a text from the casting director saying that.

I don't know why Kunal Kohli thought of me for 'Phir Se.' But he did. I got the role without any effort.

Every actor needs someone to take a chance on them.

I went from sort of trying to get work to all of a sudden being signed up for the next few years on something, and something of this scale with some of the best people in the business involved, acting and directing. It was a dream.

I live in New York and got a call from my agent saying there was this new role on 'Mad Men,' it might be recurring and they're seeing people tomorrow. I said, 'OK, this is one of those things where you hedge your bets, use your miles and get on a plane.' I flew out Tuesday morning and got the job on a Wednesday.

Really, the golden egg of doing a series is that you cross that very stupid bridge that says 'Name Actors Only' in casting sessions. All of a sudden, you become a name actor; it gives you marquee value. That's all that a series does.

If you're an actor, even a successful one, you're still waiting for the phone to ring.

You think when you start getting jobs that it'll get easier, but that's the biggest lie ever. It gets harder. You have to put in more work. I wish it were the casting couch days because it'd be a lot easier!

The director sent for me for Tarzan. I climbed the tree and walked out on a limb. The next day I was told I was an actor.

I got an agent when I needed one, when I had a contract negotiation for the first time. I was doing the Second City E.T.C., and I got invited to audition for the last season, it turns out, of 'In Living Color.'

Somebody saw me on 'Cheers' and thought that I was an actor playing a part as opposed to a guy just doing what he knew. And they gave me 'Night Court.' And by the time they realized I wasn't an actor, I had already signed a five-year contract.

Often, you're not quite sure what people have seen you in, but the script lands in your inbox. That was the case with 'The Night Manager.'

Every time you do a movie, it's important for your career, your reputation.