William H. Macy Quotes
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The ratings system is so bogus and people know it. Fewer and fewer people care. The ratings board has sort of exposed itself. But my problem is, as a parent, there's this area of film that my daughters want to see. They're not my kind of films, I don't want to go see them, but I really want to know whether my daughters can see them or not. The morality of what the ratings board is doing now escapes me. I don't get it.
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I have a tendency to say 'yes' to a script or no to a script. Not 'yes' based on a rewrite.
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The character and the actor in a long-running series slowly become one. I think there must be funny stories about actors who, in the pilot for a TV series, did some weird thing with their eyes, or some speech impediment or something, and the next thing you know, it's eight years later, and they're still doing that freaking gag.
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Yeah, I made it. It sneaks up on you. You're some schmuck and you wake up one day and you go, Good God, I'm the cheese.
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When I watch a film I get swept away. I don't really watch the camera.
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I don't watch rushes. My whole thing is to try to stay in the moment with the other actor, and to let it all hang. I'm not sure I'm right on that, though.
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That red carpet has to be felt to be believed.
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I'm a firm believer that character is highly overrated. Character is a trick that we do with the audience's collusion.
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Shameless is a rough show, and it’s not for everyone, but it’s also beautiful.
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I introduced myself to Scorsese and I said, "If you need someone to do craft services, I'm there."
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Somebody's gotta stand up and say pubic hair is good, murder is bad. Sex is good, violence is bad.
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When I was in New York, I was making a living. We had a summer house and a car that I could put in a garage. That's something for a stage actor.
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I got an agent. He said, what do you wanna do, and I said, I want an Oscar nomination. That's your job, that's what I'm paying you for. And I got it.
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Ultimately, a more experienced director realizes that you've got to stop sometime and just move on. They're braver about that.
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Women, in order to recharge their batteries, gather in groups. They can recharge their batteries with their sisters. I tend to recharge my batteries in solitude, therefore the motorcycle trips. I need to be alone. As a matter of fact, I have to be careful. I could turn into a hermit.
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I think theater is powerful. The best experiences I had in the theater are more powerful than the best experiences I had in movies.
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I love making movies, I love the differentness of it, I love writing. But I've always liked television. I grew up on television.
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I'm not religious. It's an issue, 'cause I've got two little kids, and I feel you can't grow up without knowledge of religion.
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All that back-story stuff doesn't help. What you get paid for is to stand toe-to-toe with the other actor and get him to do your will.
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I'm really proud of the writing on Door to Door, and I think that's the Emmy that meant the most - the writing.
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A good director is very well prepared, and knows exactly how he's going to cut the film, so the shooting is as efficient as possible.
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Sometimes, directors are afraid to stop shooting, because the second you stop and say, "We got it," and move on, you'll never get another chance. And they're terrified to get in the cutting room and not be happy. So they just keep shooting.
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Stephen King writes a lot of things that are really charming and quirky, and that are more ironic than horror.
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I'm a big fan of rehearsal. I'm famous for pulling the cast together, not so much to formally rehearse, but just to run the lines. My theory of acting is that it takes all your attention just to stay in the moment, and keep your attention on the other person, and get him to do what you want him to do.