Even if I play a similar role to one I've played before, I will never play it the same, I'll always try to do something different with it.
There's a million people who can go out and play the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto brilliantly, but we're the only ones who can do 'A Little Nightmare Music.'
When we watch dance, the artists and the audience are part of a momentary collective experience that will never happen again.
I believe each character you do, you should add your touch and uniqueness to it.
I think if you have a series for a long time, it's in some ways like being in a play with a long run - in that the character stays the same - and so you are constantly posed with the challenge of making it interesting and unique week after week, year after year.
As different as me and Sigourney look is as different as these two characters are. I'm not filling her shoes. I'm doing a part that has the same monsters, but it's a completely different movie.
I've been told by a lot of people after concerts that they felt the show was just for them. And I try to make it that way.
What I feel I am doing now is giving to the people exactly what they paid for but never actually heard before.
What we do every night is we change out the set list as much as we can to make sure that (fans can) go home and tell their friends they experienced something unique and cool.
I have what we call a 'symphony act.' I'm the only comedian, I think, in the country that does it.
I'm an actor who believes in looking different in every film of mine.
I just look at the character and the arc of the character, and see if it's going to be challenging. We always want to challenge ourselves. That's the biggest thing that I look at. Is this going to be a challenge? Is this going to be something that I can try my best to create, that no one could see anyone else do?
We pride ourselves on being a touring band. We work very hard to give a great and unique performance.
All performances are different. I don't think it's necessary to compare one with another. I am just me playing the role of Lear. You're bound to get a Holm approach to it, whatever that may be. I just got out there and did it. I'm very much a doer in my acting.
Well, I make every song I sing personal. I've never chosen a song that wasn't.
I'm in love with artists that are really difficult to cover or to copy. You can only try to copy them, but you will never succeed because it's intertwined with really personal references and really personal ways to exist on stage. They are really strong individuals, and are writing their own songs and know where they want to go.
I auditioned for Lamorne Morris' part, Winston, on 'New Girl.' In the scene, the character was eating a mayonnaise sandwich. I thought, 'Nobody else is going to go into the audition eating, and this is how I'm gonna set myself apart.'
I try to sing every number to the best of my ability, and I am glad people like it. I believe every number is special with a soul of its own.
You can be more creative in acting by bringing your character to life and bringing a piece of you that wasn't there before. You could have five different actors play one role, and all five of them would be so different because each person brings a different piece of them into it.
You don't want to remake something that's just been made, as an actor.
People started bringing their own personal work to 'Nightgowns,' and that's really when it started to become a really distinctive show.
When people leave my show, I want them to say, 'I've never seen anything like that in my life ... It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world.'
I always like to get a role where I think, 'Ah, I know this is probably going to be played like this, but I'm going to do it like this.'
An Elias performance is worth the price of admission.
Every performance is completely its own thing.
