And regardless of the fact that in this country, certainly in the arts, we treat comedy as a second-class citizen, I've never thought of it that way. I've always thought it to be important. The last time I looked, the Greeks were holding up two masks. I've always thought of it not only as having equal value, but as the craft of it, being funny.
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Quotes by Jeff Daniels
Explore 25 verified and sourced quotes attributed to Jeff Daniels. Open any quote for its dedicated page, source details and related topics.
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Selected quotes by Jeff Daniels
I think Michigan keeps you sane and on an even keel through the ups and downs. In Michigan, I do fireworks, shovel snow and live life.
You know, it's really strange now with the Internet, with everyone having an unsolicited, anonymous opinion.
I think we have the attention span of a gnat. You know, with cell phones and Twitter.
Meryl Streep's brilliant, just brilliant. I've been fortunate to do two movies with Meryl. And for an actor to go moment to moment like she does, there's no one better. And she dances between moments. Each take is different because she's riding instincts, she's riding impulses. And she trusts that.
I think the American electorate should work a little harder at getting informed. That includes hearing, truly listening, to what the other side is saying. Whether you're left or right.
I have done all of the genres, and the dramatic role is my favorite.
And that's one thing that helps me is I learn it blandly, vanilla, then I don't try to act it too soon because you start to act it, and you kind of go away from what the next sentence is, what the next paragraph is. So get it down so it kind of can - it's in there so you can then, as I call it, dance on top of it.
Comedy is hard to do. All the cliches about it are true.
Every actor just wants good writing.
Give me good writing, and I'll play it all day.
I love living in Michigan, which has been great for my kids and my family.
I never said, 'I'm going to be a big star.' I said, 'I'm going to be a good actor.' And that took the pressure off.
I went to Walter Reed hospital a couple of times to visit wounded soldiers, kids with no legs and one arm. You start to question some things.
On cable now, the writer is king. Any actor chases that.
Well, the music industry is littered with actors who belatedly came to singing.
The indie world changed when the economy went south. I was frustrated with doing something, then waiting for it to come out, and sometimes it never did, or would just play in New York for 50 people. So I really wanted to try something else.
I know there are people, if I go into a market or a city for the first time, there are people that are there that just want to see the famous person, or the guy from 'Dumb and Dumber' or whatever movie they liked. And that's fine, it gets them in the door, but then it's my job to give them something different.
You see a lot of these movies that are really just 90-minute video games. The effects are incredible. I get it: There's an art to that, terrific. I'm not interested in it, but there's an art to that I suppose.
I'm the guy to call. Look at the resume. I have kids of my own. I have dogs.
I think it's a style of acting that you trust. You trust the instincts.
And the actors tend not to want to watch themselves very often. I'm one of those guys.
I just never did buy this idea that you have to live in Los Angeles to be an actor. I didn't see that as a requirement in my job description.
I love the theater, but if I had to choose, I would choose a film at this time in my life. Something meaty, to sink my teeth into.
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