Quotes from James Wolk

Acting is definitely an incredible pursuit, but on the other side, it's a business, and learning where art meets business was a huge lesson for me. The more you can wrap your mind around that idea - that yes, this is my art, but it's tied into business - the more it helps you understand and move past the failures.

I started in theater. I would liken sitcom work more to theater work than I would, perhaps, to dramatic television. It's so quick. It kind of feels like the pace of a play.

When I was young, my parents made me listen to old music and watch Jimmy Durante. I fell in love with the whole mystique of acting and entertainment.

My dad used to put me in front of the TV screen and made me watch old Jimmy Durante and Dean Martin movies. I just always loved entertainment.

I emceed in metro Detroit throughout college, and even when I moved to New York, I would actually fly back on a Friday, emcee on a Saturday, and fly back on Sunday so that I could audition during the week. It was a big part of my life.

No one ever judges their own self.

I had such a broad array of classes, in improvising, in clowning, in Shakespeare. It was so great to just be inundated with all that.

Anytime you get to join a group of people you admire and respect, you want to keep those doors open.

During my third season of 'Zoo,' I was picked up by a car to go to work. We had this huge scene to shoot that day, but the traffic was just gridlock. My transportation guy got a call saying, 'Where are you? We need to start shooting.' So I got out of the car and just took off running by all of these cars that weren't moving an inch.

I was an emcee for bar mitzvahs from age sixteen to twenty-one.

When you feel moved by the story, you want to tell that story.

As an actor, that's the most important thing. You want to be able to let go and not hold onto anything, so that you can give an honest portrayal and performance.

I learned women never want to hear they have big feet. That's no fun.

I just enjoyed bar mitzvahs as a kid, and there was this company in the Detroit area where I grew up, and I think they recruited me as a party dancer - you know, like, you dance around and pass out glow sticks. I quickly rose in the ranks and, within a year, became an emcee, which was kind of unheard of.

My mom is an art teacher and my dad owns a women's shoe store, so they're not actors by any means. Well, I guess to sell women's shoes, you have to be an actor.

'30 for 30s' are amazing. They're little documentaries and can be anywhere from half an hour to an hour-and-a-half - great sports stories.

For the auditioning process, I love to move my body around, maybe dance a little bit, get myself in a really loose place where I'm free to play.

For 'Mad Men,' we really had to stick to the script, and you want to. It's not like you feel your hand is being forced. The words you get are the words you say.