Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actor John Carroll Lynch.
Last updated on April 16, 2025.
John Carroll Lynch is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show (1997-2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of American Horror Story (2014-19), most notably as breakout character Twisty the Clown. His films include Face/Off (1997), Zodiac (2007), Gran Torino (2008), Shutter Island (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), Ted 2 (2015), The Invitation (2015), The Founder (2016), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). He made his directorial debut with the 2017 film Lucky.
I heard from other people on Twitter that they're very excited about Twisty Halloween costumes, and all I can think is, 'You people are nuts!'
Great horror movies are earned. 'Halloween' is an earned picture. Every moment of grotesque violence is earned by the suspense they're able to maintain getting there.
I've seen a lot of horror, but I'm not a horror guy.
I got my Equity card at 24 at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and they asked me to join the company. I was content and happy working in the company there for a long while until I really started to feel as if I hit a bit of a glass ceiling artistically.
I think that the dehumanization of another person can happen in the matter of an instant.
I don't have any issues with clowns - I feel like I owe them an apology in some ways.
I chose John Carroll Lynch as my SAG name when I was 19 years old. I was working in D.C., and I got my SAG card by doing a first aid film for the Red Cross called 'Bleeding Control'. They had a union contract.
Is fame without purpose and is fame without talent really where we are now? People used to be famous for what they did. Now, they're just famous.
'Fargo' was the turnaround for me, in terms of film, because it was a part; it wasn't a line.
Two actors who have different motivations and skill sets can work together and be magic. Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro technically couldn't work more differently, and yet they made 'Midnight Run,' which is a genius comedy.
Breathing is always key in any character. When you have a character with no voice, that makes it even more important.
As an actor, I've given up judgement of evil, as long as it's human evil - we have to see ourselves for what we really are, and we're capable of horrific things.
Psychological horror I've always appreciated, like 'Rosemary's Baby.' The slasher movies and the grotesque movies are the ones that I've really been off for a while.
When I'm reading a script and I see the word 'lumbering' I go, 'Oh, that's probably the part they want me to read for.'
In a world where a lot of people's sense of self is dominated by how many people are following their Twitter feed, what does fame really do, and why is it important?
I never imagined I was going to do movies. My dreams were to become a regional theater actor.
You can have the most wonderful motives for what you do, but if what you do harms other people, you're fooling yourself.
If I'm going to rehearse, I don't necessarily rehearse in costume.
I never think of myself as lumbering, but I guess I am. I forget how huge I am sometimes. I've seen movies where I'm with a group of people, and I'm like, 'God, I'm just so gargantuanly bigger than anyone else there.'
Work begets work. Just work. If you work, people will find out about you and want to work with you if you're good. So work anywhere you can. That's why I've changed my mind about these theatres where people work for free or have to pay money. I think it's kind of terrible that they feel they have to, but you know what? They're working.
Evil is important for us to look at, in my opinion, only insofar as it makes us look at our own actions and make us wonder, 'Am I participating in some kind of human evil that I really should stop doing?'
I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Catholic University of America in D.C. and started working as an understudy at the Arena.
I don't go to horror movies. I walked out of 'The Exorcist,' man.
The fear that you come to a show called 'American Horror Story' with is yours. That being said, I'm glad people are afraid, and I hope that I'm contributing to their fear. I'm really not afraid of my own darkness anymore. I'm not afraid of what I'm capable of.
My crazy fear is I'm always afraid my keys are going to fall down a subway grate when I walk over it. I'm afraid they're going to jump out of my pocket and fall down. Isn't that stupid?