William H. Macy Quotes

I`m sure I have a process, but it mostly takes place in my dreams.

I have a tendency to say yes to a script or no to a script. Not yes based on a rewrite.

I`m really proud of the writing on Door to Door, and I think that`s the Emmy that meant the most - the writing.

When I lived in New York I supported myself by doing commercials. Mostly I auditioned. Once in a blue moon I would actually book one.

We must admit that it is quite common that people do have affairs with their leading ladies and men.

The bar raises as you go.

When I watch a film I get swept away. I don`t really watch the camera.

I do them all for the money, I really do.

Stephen King writes a lot of things that are really charming and quirky, and that are more ironic than horror.

For a performer to get rage, or to get hostility or shock or any kind of emotions from the audience is a joy. The thing I think actors fear the most is boredom or inattention. That`s what kills me.

I think I`ve been in situations where they looked at me and just see some rich white guy - they don`t see me at all.

We all want to be 20 again and have that first sense of love.

Everyone hooks up with George Clooney. He`s a genuinely cool guy. He`s using his powers for good.

I`m not against watching myself, but I miss a lot of it. I`ve got two little kids who we don`t let watch TV.

I was a dog in a past life. Really. I`ll be walking down the street and dogs will do a sort of double take. Like, Hey, I know him.

We thought sex was free. Sex is not free. There`s a price to be paid emotionally, physically, even legally. Sex isn`t a casual thing. It`s a huge thing.

It started with the Godfather, this operatic violence. I don`t know.

The Spirit Awards are great too, they`ll say anything because they`re not televised. Another great drinking night.

Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood.

One of my first days was the scene in which Dirk Diggler wins the Golden Phallus Award. In the audience were a hundred extras who had been told to wear their finest 1970s clothes. All they knew was that this was a Burt Reynolds film. They`re sitting there, and the director says, "All right, let`s give it a shot. When she announces the winner, you all applaud." Melora Walters walks up to the microphone, opens the envelope and, with that fabulous little voice of hers, says, "And the winner is -- and I can`t wait to get his big cock in my mouth and my ass and my pussy -- Dirk Diggler!" There was a stunned silence, and literally half the extras walked out, got in their cars and drove home. We were shut down for a while until they could get another set of extras. The next time, the director described the scene and told them what they were in for. (On making Boogie Nights)

Ninety percent of the preparation we do as actors is just jive. It doesn`t do anything.

I can`t cook to save my soul. Every once in a while I`ll cook something that`s really good, and if you put a gun to my head I couldn`t repeat it.

Yeah, I made it. It sneaks up on you. You`re some schmuck and you wake up one day and you go, Good God, I`m the cheese.

I`ve always felt everything you need is on the page. I used to load my wallet with fake IDs and know what was outside the door down the imaginary hallway. I would do a history for the character, but that`s a whole lot of work, and one day I thought, "I wonder what would happen if I didn`t do that," and the answer was, "Nothing." Nothing. It doesn`t help you. For an actor, the real issue is the moment-to-moment.

I`m a firm believer that character is highly overrated. Character is a trick that we do with the audience`s collusion.

I think theater is powerful. The best experiences I had in the theater are more powerful than the best experiences I had in movies.

When I was in New York, I was making a living. We had a summer house and a car that I could put in a garage. That`s something for a stage actor.

Oh yeah, that`s the Holy Grail, Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp, he`s the real deal, isn`t he? He doesn`t get the girl, and he doesn`t care.

A favorite cast? Lisa Kudrow, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and my wife.

The only people who do plays in LA are people who can`t get jobs in TV shows.

When Fargo came out, I hired a publicist for the first time in my life. I thought, if ever I was going to make it, that was then.

If I like the story and it`s well written, and it`s a character I want to play and they`ll pay me, then I decide to do it.

Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood.

Directors work 10 times harder than anyone else. Get paid a quarter.

On playing losers: When you do something well, they`ll ask you to do it again. Early on, I must have done this well and the reputation was out there. It`s strange because in my life, I don`t feel like a loser. Far from it. I feel lucky.

I got an agent. He said, what do you wanna do, and I said, I want an Oscar nomination. That`s your job, that`s what I`m paying you for. And I got it.

There are some older women out there who are just knockouts, real beauties, and they`re not getting the roles they should.

That red carpet has to be felt to be believed.

I`ll tell you this about the Oscars - they`re real.