Leslie Mann Quotes

Mine is an actor's voice, not a singer's voice, but the part was written for an actor (Richard Burton), not a singer.

People say, "Why is it that you love to act?" And you want to say, "Well, most of acting is sitting in your trailer, either bored or worried about the scene coming up." A lot of it is about things you don't really like, so it's a wonder why acting is such a huge draw, why everyone loves it so much.

Really, for an actor, it's all about remembering a lot of stuff - and keeping the moustache on.

It seemed fun to play a villain on stage and I wanted my jokes to be so good that I could just calmly tell them on stage.

That's where I'm comfortable - playing a jackass on the scene, rolling in with my pocket watch and my buffoon hairdo, with my shoes.

Acting is an imaginative leap, really. And imaginations prosper in different circumstances. And it's being able - I can't tell you how one does, but one tries to read those circumstances correctly.

I never really took any acting classes. I'm just a natural ham, I guess.

In Yale they convinced me I had no talent, even though I was always working. They cast me mostly as prostitutes and old women, and I stayed because I loved the writers. I loved Chris Durang and Wendy Wasserstein. I was always doing their work in the Yale Cabaret.

I played a role. That is what actors do. But I played it too well. I went too far. And by the time I wanted to stop, to take a bow and leave the stage, it was too late.

In stand up, you get an awareness of how you come across, but in acting there is almost a hyper-awareness on how you might be physically perceived.

You can't be trying to be funny. As an adult actor, sometimes I'll muddle it up by over-thinking things.

The matter is - we are actors playing roles [in Planet Apes] and they happen to be in this instance apes but there's no difference. In the scenes that we're playing, if we were to block out the scenes as actors in costumes, it would be no different.

I realized that I was a really, really terrible actor. I was like, "I'd better be myself."

Working with any actor is like working with a monkey.

Acting has been described as farting about in disguise.

Acting in general you just feel kind of stupid doing it anyway, but when you're pretending to be rolling around and dodging a foot or riding an ant, you're having to really do it seriously and there's nothing there. You've got to put faith in the process.

I actually think it's helped me as a writer to have to act. It's only when you actually start putting yourself out that you appreciate the anxiety that comes with having to try to sell a line, or with trying to own a character.

It's a special kind of acting, soap opera acting. It's hard for me.

It was quite strange, because it's quite different from singing, although it's quite natural because you're used to performing or acting on stage.

I would never want something I'm wearing or the way I'm dancing or something to overshadow what I'm doing. I'd rather grab people's attention with my voice.

I just had a throwaway part, really, if you think about it. I'm not a natural actor, you know? I'm a comedian, through and through. And I really love my lines. Those are the lines I want to do.

You know, you're just sitting with him [Chevy Chase], then you're doing a scene with him and acting, and all of a sudden you go, "Omigod, that's Chevy Chase!" And then you've got to keep acting. "Danny, your lines? Your lines...? You've got to keep going!" "Oh, sorry, sorry!"

I'm definitely not a dancer. I can move well, but it's more about the acting and the singing for me. Acting and singing are completely different, so I can't say which one I love better because I love them both. I love acting because I get to play different characters. But I also love my music because I get to portray me.

With acting it's your neck up there in the end. And if you think the director can't help you it's one thing. But if you feel they're reining you in when they need to be giving you some rope, or vice versa, then I just don't tolerate that.

The process of acting, not necessarily the business of acting, but the actual doing of it in the moment is my greatest kind of personal passion, the thing that brings me alive the most. Also, my two children.