Quotes About Comedy

I am reasonably nice-looking and have quite an expressive face, which is good for comedy.

I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds.

I don't believe that anybody has come to a conclusion on why something is funny. It's funny because it's ridiculous and it's ridiculous for different reasons at different times.

I've always loved American stand-up. Richard Pryor is one of the main reasons I got into stand-up. After Pryor, I made my way through the other great American comics, then finally got into the British ones over here.

The only way I could get comfortable around people was to make them laugh. I was an obedient girl, and humor was my one form of rebellion. I used comedy to deflect. Like, 'Hey, check out my zit!' - you know, making fun of yourself before someone else has a chance to.

I was never consciously rebellious but I suppose comedy is a sort of act of rebellion isnt it? Coming from a quite liberal background, it never occurred to me that there was anything to rebel against because you were allowed to say what you wanted to say.

My goal is to show people that conservatives are funny. In fact, we're the rebels: we're 'Animal House.'

When you're coming up with new material, it's not always gonna be good. The only way to learn is for it not to get a laugh, so you can adjust it and come back the next day to see if it's working right. Next time, you might get a different laugh. You're constantly rebuilding.

From as long as, literally as far back as I can remember I've liked puns, word jokes, I can literally recall looking at a comic at the age of six or seven and I remember what I enjoyed and what it was precisely and how the joke worked.

I would like Albert Brooks to have received the Oscars for best actor, best director and best screenplay for 'Modern Romance.' I love that movie.

After over 50 years of headlining, I've been received very beautifully. But I always say, when you're onstage, you can't please everybody. I'm sure there are people who may not take to what I do, but that's OK.

The more you work in this business as a comedian, the closer you get to just being yourself onstage, on camera, the more well received you are.

I love doing humorous roles and I write my characters that way. But I haven't received many offers from others to do comedy.

My favorite series of 'Peep Show' is always the most recent one, which I can say with all honesty because I don't write it. It gets better and better.

There are so few good comedy sequels. The only one in recent memory that's good is '22 Jump Street.' It's a hard genre.

For me, 'Arrested Development' is the cornerstone of recent television comedy. It's so incredibly flawless and perfect.

I've played at the Comedy Studio. I never did as an undergrad, but I have in recent years, whenever I've gone back to anything at Harvard, I've tried to go there and do some sets.

I recently finished a job, an HBO movie 'Getting On,' a very dark comedy. It comes from a British series of the same name. In this role I have no hair, no make up and no nails. I play a very small role; she is not over the top and sassy.

I heard David Sedaris read live recently which was a complete delight. Few writers make me laugh out loud on the bus. He does.

Trying to look cool and lovely in comedy is a recipe for disaster. You have to let go.

There's this little recipe that you have to hit pretty well to get somebody to laugh. And it's a combination of the way in which you say something, with the facial expression that you have, married with the body language that you have, etc.

I reckon there could be an entire 'It'll Be Alright On The Night' programme dedicated to me on 'The Chase.'

I recognise the pure gold that runs in Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's work for 'Outnumbered' on TV. And on radio, I really enjoy John Finnemore.

I used to do homophobic material that I didn't recognise as homophobic. It's the only stuff I really look back on and think, 'I just wouldn't do that again.'