Quotes About Inspiration

Vangelis, who wrote the music for 'Chariots Of Fire,' is a bit of an idol of mine - his music is stunning. So when I got a call from my manager in the 90s asking if I'd like to do some songwriting for him I couldn't believe it.

I grew up in the late '70s. We played outside all day. I think that's where I got the whole notion of being an actor, you know, stunt fighting with my friends.

My favorite actor is Steve McQueen, and he did his own stunts.

When I was very young, Michael Crawford was a real hero because I saw this guy who could do everything - make people laugh, act, do stunts.

A lot of the motivation for doing the 'Make 'Em Laugh' on SNL was because I had just finished shooting 'Inception,' where there were zero-gravity scenes and I got into really good shape and was training and did all these stunts. Coming off of that, that instilled me with the confidence to do 'Make 'Em Laugh.'

'Romance' is based on my entire creative process. I fall in love with an idea, obsess over it, isolate myself with it, and when I eventually introduce it to my friends, they all tell me that it's stupid.

I like 'Zorro.' I like people you can believe that don't have those stupid powers. That is the beauty of Zorro. He's just a guy working for the people, to save the people.

It'd be stupid for me to sit here and say that there aren't kids who look up to me, but my responsibility is not to them. I'm not a baby sitter.

When people make the educated argument that things should go back, it's more like going back to a feeling they had when they heard some of the music that came out. Not going back to that music being rehashed. That's stupid.

There's not one thing that inspires me the most. Me and my friends joke around with each other and hang out so much that whatever makes us laugh really hard makes it into 'Workaholics.' But the characters that I think are funny are guys that are confidently stupid.

Just like in rugby, the pinnacle was playing for the All Blacks. That was always a massive thing. But you never speak it outwardly because it can sound stupid. But if you don't have massive dreams, you might as well stay in bed.

For me, I went to NYU, and at that point, it was 1995, and everyone wanted to be Tarantino. I was writing these stupid comedies, and I felt lost.

I like to use my hands and make things... It might seem pretty stupid or pointless but that doesn't matter... some of the most interesting work is the stuff that starts like that - out of a raw need for activity.

I never consciously said, 'I want to be an actor.' It sounds stupid, but it's kind of like being a painter or something. You don't say, 'From today on I'm going to be a painter.' It's not something conscious - you've just been painting pictures all your life.

I'm only a stupid filmmaker.

First, there was 2 Stupid Dogs. Then, Dexter's Laboratory. And now, Powerpuff Girls. There were a lot of little things in between, but those were the main ones.

It sounds kind of stupid, but I've never not wanted to be a musician. It's been inside me since I was little so I don't know what else I would do.

Ever since I was 7 years old, I was writing. I remember being in the basement of my house, this dank, horrible basement, putting on plays with not-very-willing participants, and I would promise kids in the neighborhood that I'd play Nintendo 64 with them after we'd rehearse this stupid play that I wrote.

Songwriting is like editing. You write down all this stuff - all this bad, stupid stuff - and then you have to get rid of everything except the very best.

Work takes different forms. I can spend two or three days without completing anything, and it's choppy: it's filled with all kinds of irrationalities and stupid actions. I have some notion, and then I drop it because something else comes along. I'm forever darting from one side of the room to the other.

I think every artist needs a rule that's stupid but that helps him, like a deadline would.

Every day, somebody has a song they want you to hear, and you're stupid if you don't listen to it because you never know what you may find.

People like Bill Murray are incredible at what they do and are definitely my flavour. Although Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais are also incredible actors. In their comedy, they make these stupid people feel so real. These guys are really setting the bar very high, and I learn as much from them about acting as I do about comedy.

I'm very much inspired by things that anger me. If I see bigotry, stupidity, or injustice on the news, I'm inspired to find a way to make it into something comedic and relatable. Anger inspires me. Stupidity inspires me. My family inspires me. My accountant inspires me. Everything and anything, really.