Quotes About Performance

It's no surprise to me or the other Isley brothers that I can sing, because I used to sing all the time in practice. The surprise is that somebody else likes it.

I'd met Roscoe in Europe quite a few times over the years, and we'd say hi and so on, but this was the first time we'd actually played together.

Every single time when you act in a film, and there's a different director, which of course as actors we're used to experiencing that's what we do, it's a different experience.

Any time you put Matheny in, that's good managing.

I haven't appeared on stage in quite a long time and I don't have any immediate plans to do so, but I'm always interested in going back.

Why do everything perfectly? Isn't perfection just an illusion? Tell me if it's an illusion if they don't fix your car perfectly next time you bring it in.

I get a lot of influence from pro wrestling. People are like, 'Oh, it's fake.' But it's not about whether the guy wins or loses, it's about how he entertains you the whole time you're watching.

My material never comes out verbatim every time. I always tweak in a line, or tweak away a line, gain a couple tags or lose a couple tags. The timing is always off.

Live concerts were to train the ears and to introduce, constantly, new musical ideas to the audience so the next time they showed up or the next record they would be ready and receptive.

Home runs usually come in bunches for me. If I'm feeling good and I'm on time, I can drive the ball even more.

The first time I saw Mikhail Baryshnikov it was like he had an anti-gravity machine in his pants. He would jump and stay in the air for 10 minutes.

The one nice thing about doing a character for a long time is, you begin to feel more comfortable, and you are thinking less and behaving more.

I got on stage for the first time when I was seven. From seven until I was about nine it was probably more to do with just being on stage and having the attention.

I've been a performer for a long time and I know when people are laughing from their guts, from the inside, and when their tuxedos are laughing.

When you first start out as an actor, you're just looking for a good part. As time goes on, if you're being held responsible for the movies themselves, you're looking for a good script all around.

Acting has always been something for me that's been a romp. I just show up and I have a good time, and I hope that I get through the day and I can have lunch in the sun.

I do believe in growing old gracefully, and when the time comes that I would look silly performing on stage, I'll be prepared to give it up without regrets.

Pretty much every time I try something different or do something in front of a live audience, I truly think they might throw peanuts at me.

Doing a show is very similar to what meditation is supposed to be: being there and being present in that space and time.

An actor's job is to do their job. It's great if it's successful and it's fantastic when it's a huge hit, but at the same time, you're there to do a job and make sure you do it well.

I love getting out there and traveling and doing shows and all of that. But when I can be home, it's a special time.

I think comedy is drama, often. It's hard to have comedy over a period of time - commercials are one thing, but over a period of time - comedy and tragedy go hand in hand.

I still have a hard time just calling myself a musician. If I'm talking to somebody and they ask me what I do, I say I play music.

Every time I act in something, I learn something about what the director is doing. One feeds the other.