Rob Reiner Quotes

I've always been into improvisation.

I have a lot of respect for people who are great at ad-libbing, and for writers and directors who are able to create a scene in which that works.

I really learned how to improvise at the Groundlings.It's something I've always loved to do. For some reason it feels more honest at times.

The skill of a good actor is to make it always seem like you're in that fantastically spontaneous moment. Very often, a stand-up comedian has a different instinct, which is to reinvent. Once you've laid down some material, and made them laugh, you move on and find some new material.

You have to practice improvisation, let no one kid you about it!

If you're a good improviser, you improvise well enough that people think that you're doing a sketch.

When you do improv, you're everything. You're a performer, writer, and director, because you're moving the scene in the direction you want it to go, you're making it up as you go, and you're acting it. You're all of those things, so I always viewed myself that way. And with the films I've done, I've written on them, I've acted in some of them. And even ones I haven't acted in, I've acted them out just to be sure another actor can do them.

I've definitely always had a passion for entertaining.

I don't mind doing scripted material. It's actually kind of a relief, because improvising is a little bit like screenwriting on your feet.

It's funny, the hardest thing to do is to make something look like it's fast, loose and improvised, and get somebody to laugh.

When I was in primary school, I was given a five-line script in 'Anansi the Spider Man,' and I decided to just improv and make it my own. For a second, I felt like Kevin Hart because everyone was laughing. I just continued to do it. Why not?

If I'm not clear with the character, I can't do anything with it. But once I get that character, the possibilities are endless. When you have such a defined character, I feel like I can actually read the phone book and make it funny.

I would like any type of character that I could be creative with and totally delve into.

Do you think I am standing here, making this up as I go? I am sorry to disillusion you. I am not Robin Williams. I am the king of the pen.

The thing with 'Pippin' is not to over think it too much. If you try and overthink or plan and over-analyze - it's like with any role really, but this one specifically - you can run into sogging wet newspaper. It's just too exciting to do that. It's nice to be bounced around and surprised at almost every line that comes out of your mouth.

Doing improv really got me started in my whole career.

My roots are in stand-up, and stand-up is very freeing. There's no script involved; you just fly.

In 'There's Something About Mary' and 'Dumb & Dumber,' I ended up improvising quite a bit of my scenes, and later I didn't even remember what I'd said because I just winged it. When I went and saw the movie, I was as stunned as everyone else was.

There's a certain rhythm to comedy that is almost like you're dancing and you just go on autopilot, so to speak. There's something just beautifully enjoyable about comedy in that respect. It's a joy to be able to do that. Drama, you get to go to depths that you haven't gone to before.

I worked with Marlon Wayans on the show 'They Wayans Brothers,' and we hit it off. One thing about Marlon, when he casts a movie or a TV show, he expects you to bring it. You've got to be ready to improv, because Marlon will say anything, and you've got to be ready to come back.

I am obsessed with improv.

It scared me to death to think about improv, but I got hired for a year at Second City in Chicago, which made me nervous, but I found I could improvise. Then I was in a group called the Ace Trucking Company, which we'd do, like, a half hour set of material, then open up for improvisation.

'The Mindy Project' is really best when you're loose, and we improvise a lot, and that's what's best.

A humorist doesn't really do that much note-taking.

I like to do as much improv as I can do.