Quotes from Michael Eklund

I've had a couple of people come up to me after screenings and say they kind of sympathized with the character. I always get a kick out of it when people say that. It means I did something maybe a little bit to the credit of the character.

I think every actor has their list of roles that were near misses. I've had my share. I was very close and almost cast in Philip Seymour Hoffman's 'Capote.'

Actors sure have stories. We always have stories. At the end of our careers, all we have to take with us is our stories, and we have many of them.

It's what I've always wanted to do and each part you play gets you closer and closer to the roles that you dreamed of playing.

Xavier Gens is probably the busiest filmmaker that I know.

I don't follow anything that's said about him much, but the Uwe Boll that I know is just a really cool guy. He's just a really quiet, kind and passionate filmmaker who really believes in what he's doing. Like any director that an actor wants to work with, you want a director who's passionate and believes in the work that he's doing.

Every thriller needs a good bad guy; without a bad guy, there's no thriller.

Making a movie takes a toll on your life because it's a commitment, so you put a lot on the back burner.

I like playing characters with internal problems.

I think it's very important for any actor to eventually produce, and create the projects they want to create. I believe it's all a part of the same art form, which is storytelling.

I think every actor has their list of roles that were near misses. I've had my share.

I do like playing the darker side of life but as much as the lighter side as well. They all resonate out of the same place, which is that everyone has a story to tell. Depending on their upbringing and their history, it determines who they are as an adult. My job is to take the role from there.

With the way I like to work, I always have to draw [inspiration] from somewhere, and the best place to take from is your own life.

The thing is, I never see my characters as psychopaths. I see them as really crippled victims who just happen to do bad things. And I never see them as bad guys; I see them as darker characters. I never see anything as good or bad; it's more light or dark, and the in-between is the grey.