Sam Rockwell Quotes

I did the odd bit of theater from the age of ten, but I spent most of my time doing the usual teenage things - you know, thinking I was black, trying to break dance and smoking a lot of dope.

I`ve seen a lot of people change into double-glazed celebrities. Sudden fame is a really hard test of character. I wouldn`t want to be Leonardo DiCaprio, much as I like him, because it can`t be good for you at that age. I actually think that no-one should be allowed to be famous until they`re 30.

(On why he was fired from G.I. Jane (1997)): I gave them no alternative, because I didn`t want to learn how to scuba dive. I wouldn`t mind learning in the Bahamas, but I didn`t want to learn at three o`clock in the morning.

(1998 Quote): I just see myself as a character actor. I`d like to be a star in the same way as Gary Oldman or John Malkovich are famous, who get to do character pieces and not act like movie stars.

(Recalling a period he went through when he was 18): I watched Raging Bull (1980) like 50 times. I wanted to be Italian. For a year I was Italian; that`s all I did. I could do all that New York street stuff to the point where I would get feedback from my auditions, "He`s too New York, he`s too urban" and I was from San Francisco, really.

God, I hate LA. It`s an evil place. So uncreative. You can`t walk anywhere, that`s what really gets me. I lived there for eight months. It`s something that you`ve really got to do when you`re starting out. You join the scrum of pilot season. Even as an unknown, you can make the most phenomenal amount of money. But it`s so awful. You go in to a room with 20 network executives, who are all holding popcorn and they watch your screen test in total silence. Not even a chuckle. It`s all very businesslike.

I prefer film over TV. I don`t prefer film over theater. With TV there`s less time to shoot and everything is rushed. You have too many hands and cooks. There`s the network and the producer and the writers. Too many people getting involved and stirring the mix. It doesn`t make for good art.

I do prefer theater. The whole process of film is just so tedious. You`re there for 18 hours a day, there`s so much idle time. You just burn out. Also, there isn`t the camaraderie you get in the theater.

I really want to work with Gary Oldman. I want to play his brother or something. Or have him direct me or I just want to get inside that guy`s head, you know and I know, I just feel that I know the guy even though I don`t know him. I feel like I know him. If he reads this, it`s going to freak him out, he`s gonna want to stay away from me, "Oh, Jees, this guy`s a psycho!" I love his ballsiness. Whether you agree with his choices or not, the guy`s got `cajones` -- he`s got balls. And you know, he goes for it. I just think he`s great.

I think of myself as a journeyman actor. I`ve got some talent and I work hard, but people like Brando or Pacino-those people are touched by God.

I want to be a character actor, but I also want to make some money.

(2002 Quote): I`m originally from San Francisco. I might move there some day. But, I like LA, I have fun in LA. It`s a fun town if you`ve got money in your pocket. It`s a good town.

After a while, you stop thinking that the film you`re in is going to be your big break. I mean, I was sure that the TV show I did in 1989 was going to make me.

I`ve played so many hicks and country bumpkins. It`s hilarious, because I`ve always lived in cities.

(1999 Quote): I`d like to be an action hero, but I don`t think they`d ever make me that type of leading man. I`m too quirky. If they put me in Speed 3, two days later they`d go, "Yep, we`re gonna have to fire him now. Can we get someone more mainstream?" I like to make weird choices. If you watch Paul Newman, or even Cary Grant, they weren`t always thinking good things. Who knows what the hell Cary Grant was thinking? He could be smiling at a woman and having some really dirty, nasty thoughts. That`s what made them interesting leading men.

I really believe that people like Bill Murray or John Belushi are just as great and just as valid as Robert De Niro or Al Pacino. And I don`t think you can say One Flew Over the Cuckoo`s Nest (1975) is a better movie than Animal House (1978); they`re different genres. I think they`re both examples of great craftsmanship.

(On his role in Galaxy Quest (1999)):That part is kind of an homage to Bill Paxton in Aliens (1986). I definitely stole some moves from my buddy (actor) Steve Zahn and Bill Murray`s lounge singer character from "Saturday Night Live" (1975) is in there somewhere. Plus a little Michael Keaton in Night Shift (1982) and definitely some Richard Pryor. I get a lot from Richard Pryor actually. How agile he is, vulnerable.

When I took acting classes and being drunk was the assigned impediment of the day, a lot of people would go out the night before and get drunk. That`s not research! Research is going to bar... and drinking coffee.

I have a constant sort of melancholy approach to acting that fuels me. I want to do everything.

(On what he would do if he wasn`t an actor): I have no skills. There`s absolutely nothing I know how to do. So I`d be fucked otherwise. I`m very fortunate to be an actor. I know I`m very lucky to be doing this. And though I`m not sure where I`m going to end up -- whether it`s in major films, independents, or theater work -- I`m just happy getting to do roles that are really juicy, meaningful and allow me to keep adventuring the way I have been.

Safe Men (1998) was exhausting, although I had a great time on it. I have a special place in my heart for Safe Men. That was a true independent film, in a budget sense. There were no trailers. Steve (Steve Zahn) and I were hanging out. It was guerrilla filmmaking. But we had a blast. And such good actors. For such a low budget, we had top rate actors, Michael Lerner, Harvey Fierstein. Steve Zahn, by far, one of the best actors I have ever worked with. He is a truly gifted actor. Skilled. He comes from the stage, he`s from ART (American Repertory Theater). He`s a farm boy turned theater actor, turned film actor. He builds barns and hunts deer and drinks beer and drives a Chevy Nova. He`s a man, he`s a real man.

Stage is where it really happens for an actor because it makes full use of whatever you have to give.

Money is power and power gives you choice.

I`ve been in more than 20 movies. You just do the best you can and try to make a living. Whether it`s The Green Mile (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999) or Lawn Dogs (1997). There`s no difference, not for me.

I worked in a lot of restaurants. Busing, mostly. I was a food runner. I was an extra on soap operas. An extra on commercials. Typical actor, huh? I delivered burritos by bicycle. All that stuff. My last real job was delivering food for this trendy restaurant. That sucked. Jobs suck! I hate jobs. This is better. I`ve got to remind myself, because I get bitchy sometimes. It could be a lot worse.

Sarita (Sarita Choudhury) was the one that got away. She was amazing, really amazing. I loved Sarita. She was my pal.

I feel a little strange all the time, a little bit off-center. I never feel that people are as nutty as me.

(On his part in The Green Mile (1999)): I guess Wild Bill is a disgusting, racist, pedophile freak. But I`d been wanting to play a psycho, a juicy one. I saw him as Huck Finn meets Satan. The kind of part Gary Oldman or John Malkovich might play. It`s just a cool part.