Quotes from Joshua Malina

'Scandal' is certainly different from anything else I've been involved with as an actor.

I won't divulge the details, but there's a way to call somebody's phone and have whatever number you want appear on the caller I.D. so that the call you're making appears to be coming from someone else.

I sure do enjoy my ice cream. And I consider a pint a good start.

I tend to not wallow too much in sentiment if I can avoid it.

I like the concept of escalating warfare, but you need someone to fight back in order for things to escalate. If there's no confrontation or argument going on, it's too dull for me. I think that's the nature of the prankster: Things are too quiet. What can I do?

A lot of shows, things will just simmer and simmer and maybe never explode into the open, or only risk exploding into the open when it's clear that the series has gotten to its endgame. So I'm always impressed - but not surprised - when 'Scandal' just completely goes for it.

'Backwash' is an old-school, slapstick-y romp between three eccentric loser friends who inadvertently rob a bank, armed solely with a salami and a sweat sock, and then find themselves on the run pursued by singing cops. It's kind of a classic piece, a sophisticated piece, if you will.

As far as exercise, I play a lot of lacrosse and rugby, and I'm an avid distance swimmer. Nope, none of that is true. I do walk a lot, though.

I delight in embarrassing somebody else.

If 'Scandal' were to run for the rest of my career and prevent me from doing anything else, I would sign that contract this moment.

I'm in a profession where if you're planning more than six months ahead, you're doing it wrong!

It would be a disappointment for me to take a job, as often happens, having to shoot out-of-town and not where I live.

Coming up in the School of Aaron Sorkin Delivery of Fast-Paced Dialogue and Hyper-Articulateness prepared me well for Shondaland, where there are many of the same factors at play.

I always wanted to be an actor. It sort of prevented that whole - I never had any of that kind of angsty period old and doing musicals at camp and community theater and plays at school; it was just always what I most enjoyed and always what I intended to pursue.

I've been on plenty of things that never took off, and I've been on one thing, 'The West Wing,' that was a big hit, but took off well before I was on it.

A lot of people stop me to say nice things about 'The West Wing,' nice things about 'Sports Night' - so many people that I'm like, 'Where were you when it was on?'

When I came on 'The West Wing,' I jumped onto something that was already a steaming locomotive of a hit. It was very exciting for me because I knew, the moment I got the 'West Wing' job, 'Well, hey, so now I'm on a hit show because it already is established and very popular.'

I plan someday to do a one-man show based solely on the e-mails of Bellamy Young. And people will think I've written a brilliant comedy myself when, in fact, all the text will be directly from Bellamy.

Aaron Sorkin has been incredibly good to me; I don't know that I would have an acting career without him. Thanks to him, people think I'm smart and nice, but I'm neither.

I have a very thick skin altogether - surprisingly, many actors are rather fragile, but I get that of the 10 million people watching an episode, probably 3 million hate me, and I'm comfortable with that.

My dad in particular I tend to use - I call him 'The Brain.' If he's accessible, I'd rather put it through his brain. My wife, Melissa, maintains that the closer he is in proximity to me, the less I think for myself. And I think she's actually correct. So anything worth mulling over, I will mull over with my father, and that includes ratings.

I'm incapable of truly relaxing. I remember when I was younger and less wise or experienced, actors that I knew would always talk about jobs ending and wondering whether they were ever going to work again. Now that's my life.

I like to put shaving cream in the door handle of people's cars and that kind of thing.

I actually have, in all seriousness, in the back of my mind someday to write a book, the title of which would be 'Quit Now and Other Practical Advice for the Aspiring Actor.'