American Quotes

Fear is not a good teacher. The lessons of fear are quickly forgotten.

The timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.

The Oscar changed everything. Better salary, working with better people, better projects, more exposure, less privacy.

Jack made it very comfortable for me on the set. We'd met socially before but never worked together. You know, he's very professional, very disciplined and he's always prepared and knows his lines.

It was also wonderful to have the prospect of playing with Jack Nicholson. It was a terrific part, a terrific script, with Alexander Payne and Jack Nicholson. You can't get any better than that!

I try to always stretch myself to fit the characters that have been presented.

I think that being in an environment is a much richer experience than just working on a soundstage.

I look for a role that hopefully I feel empathy with and that I can understand and love, but also that has that challenge for me to play - a different kind of role, a different type of character, a different time period.

Every time an Oscar is given out, an agent gets his wings.

Alexander Payne's very specific. His scripts are always complete when you start working on them.

It is the hour to rend thy chains, the blossom time of souls.

Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.

Opinions differ most when there is least scientific warrant for having any.

No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her won way is without enemies.

The man who never makes a mistake always takes orders from one who does. No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies.

If people are going to complain about stereotyping, it's as likely to be Italian-Americans as gay people.

If I'm enjoying something, I'd like to be able to just have it all. Frankly, that's the way I'm approaching my career now. I'm a total workaholic.

I'm in a little bit of a different situation, because working in the business that I do and living in the city that I live in, I haven't had a problem with people who are gay. Since I was 10 I've been working alongside them, and some of my best friends are gay.

I'd worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well.

I would rather do three or four small parts every year as opposed to some of the lower-hanging fruit that might get my name above the title.

I was just a lot smarter about not getting caught. I mean, I never stuck anything in my arm, but I certainly enjoyed my youth.

I think anybody who's doing work in their teen years on TV or in the movies, you're a teen idol by default.

I remember my dad working with me on breaking down my script and writing out a back story for my character and all that stuff.

I really enjoy playing that everyman part because that part is us, the audience. And you need somebody inside a comedy to tether the absurdity to reality.

I played a ton of team sports growing up, and team wins are just incredibly gratifying.

I only wanted to get married once, so when I felt I was ready to handle it, I looked at my relationships and noticed that boyfriends get tired of girlfriends, and vice versa, but you never get tired of your friends.

I never looked at fan mail, for some reason. My mother and grandmother handled my mail - although it's not like I was ever in the stratosphere of Kirk Cameron or Scott Baio.

I just love doing sitcoms. I'd be in them till I was gray if they'd have me.

I have to warn you: I bet horses like a girl.