Chris Rock Quotes

I found I had the ability to do comedy. My timing was really inborn.

After doing comedy for a while and knowing how hard it is to do physical comedy right, I learned how incredibly talented the Three Stooges really were after re-watching old episodes. They still stand up!

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

Every actor thinks he can do comedy, and it's not true.

Even in comedy, you have to be real. It's all about being real. It's how real can you be? That's the challenge. How much are you willing to take on for your character?

You can't fake comedy. You can't make it look beautiful or put an interesting bit of music on in the background: funny can only be funny if you're funny.

There was something about that form of comedy that's just difficult. It never really felt like you could just fully commit to all the colors that you carry with you.

I always get a little bit pissed off when stand-up comedy is not recognised as being as good a craft as being an actor. We give Oscars to people and it's like, 'Aw, this person is the greatest person on earth', but being an actor is pretty easy in comparison to stand-up comedy. It's no surprise that several stand-up comics have gone on to become great actors. I don't know any great actors that have gone on to become great stand-up comics.

I know I can never work in a comedy because I can't keep a goddamn straight face.

As an audience member, I like watching Rupert as an actor when he's most playful. I think Rupert is really adept at comedy; I think that's where his strength lies.

Comic timing is something you are either born with or do not have.

Comedy can be harder because if you aren't making the audience laugh, they're going to turn on you quicker. They'll go along with mediocre drama more than they'll go along with mediocre comedy.

My wife is very stealth-funny. She'll come out with something when I'm not expecting it, and it'll just kill me.

Paranormal reality shows are some of the best unintentional comedy in the history of recorded entertainment.

I've always been an actor. I've always approached all my comedy as an actor.

Most people think that action movies are difficult and comedies are easy, but it's actually the opposite. Comedy can be a lot of hard work too.

The people who like my work, I know that I can't trick them into laughing someplace where there is not a genuine reason to laugh.

You can succeed as a terrible director, but try doing that with stand-up: try being a terrible comedian and getting up on stage. The funny will win out very, very quickly.

Being funny is very complex.

As far as how I approach the humor, I think the best comedy is going to happen when I'm myself and act organically to a news item or situation.

I think for me, the best comedy comes from when something feels real and genuine, so even though Miranda is this wacky character, there is a real vulnerability to her that we finally get to show in 'Haters Back Off,' and I think that's what makes this comedy rich and more fulfilling, at least for me.

You can't really do comedy if you're working with Ryan Reynolds, eh? He outplays everyone in that field, so I couldn't really 'dial it down,' because he was just so much better than me at comedy.

I have a lot of respect for actors who do comedy. They do it naturally.

Comedy is harder than drama, because with comedy you're expecting a result..you make them laugh. [If] they ain't laughing then you're screwed.

It's a very important skill set for an actor to be able to bring the humor into any moment, whether you're doing drama or comedy.