Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actor Michael Pena.
Last updated on December 21, 2024.
Michael Anthony Peña is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including Crash (2004), World Trade Center (2006), Shooter (2007), Observe and Report (2009), Tower Heist (2011), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), End of Watch (2012), Gangster Squad (2013), American Hustle (2013), Fury (2014), Frontera (2014), The Martian (2015), Collateral Beauty (2016), CHiPs (2017), My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), Ant-Man (2015) and its sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), A Wrinkle in Time (2018), 12 Strong (2018), Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), Fantasy Island (2020), Tom & Jerry (2021) and Moonfall (2022). Peña had the title role in Cesar Chavez (2014) and played DEA agent Kiki Camarena in season one of the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico (2018).
I've been seeing superhero movies as long as I can remember. I don't think they're going anywhere.
I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.
I was a quiet kid - I didn't think I needed to be the funniest guy. I was always more of a listener. I went to 12 different schools, and I wasn't the charismatic dude, but I was captain of the track team and wrestling team.
I don't think people are experiencing superhero fatigue. Do you hear people complaining that there are too many action movies? I think it's good entertainment.
Marvel just does things differently.
'Spider-Man' seems to have a different tone to the pure Marvel stuff, but I really enjoyed the 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' and 'Iron Man' movies. I love the special effects and how it seems very real, but at the same time, it still lives within the realm of Marvel. That's got to be a lot of work.
I used to tour with this band. I was a drummer. I would tour a bunch for about 10 months out of the year and act for about two months. I would make what I needed from acting and would stretch it out.
I was in L.A., like, four months, and I got my first part. Then I was like, 'OK, I'm staying.'
I think about where I grew up and how I grew up: my dad was making $25,000 a year. Taking a chance wasn't really taking a chance. It was like you were going for something better. To me, there wasn't that much risk involved.
A lot of Americans don't really leave the country.
I guess people recognize me, but I'm not a household name. Two out of every five people who come up to me know my name. The one thing I don't want is to be followed by paparazzi.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I've been shot at before. I remember I very calmly went down on the ground. Afterwards, you're like, 'Omigod.' You just don't have time to think.
I've been an actor for 20 years, and I think the first 14 years, it was all struggling. At first, it was all gangsters.
There are not too many times when a movie's not cynical, you know what I mean?
The joy of 'Crash' was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. 'Crash' was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette of my own. It really meant something.
When I watch movies with my kid like 'Shrek,' I'm like, 'Wow, this is pretty funny.' That's why I wanted to start doing movies like that - so my kid would laugh at my jokes.
We all want approval.
A shootout is a shootout. You go in and get the bad guys.
It's so interesting to watch Ben Stiller work because he just knows what's funny.
I usually just try to do whatever's on the page because I've done research before - including a lot of analysis - but you end up with conflicting data. To me, the script is king.
I'm into looking at things from the other point of view. And if you look at who votes in the Oscars, mostly older Jewish guys, they're going to vote for stuff they relate to. Do they relate to NWA? I doubt it.
I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked.
One of my favorite movies is 'Broadway Danny Rose.'
I feel really comfortable with going for the reality of the drama, but I'm not much for the comedy of it. You have to make people laugh, or you have to be true to the character in such a way that makes people laugh. It's a whole different thing.
A good director is like a good coach. You want to play for him. You want to really show him your good stuff. You don't want to let that person down. Ridley Scott is one of those guys.
I wouldn't say I have comedy chops. I guess you get lucky with good writing because I don't think I'm a comedian by any stretch of the imagination.
My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I'd be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they'd make it before I did. I'd still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show.
A good comic explores the imagination, but it's always got to have those notes of truth running through it.
There's an immigration problem in every country that has money, in that people there have a problem with immigration.
Kicks to the legs, they're not very cool. They're brutal.
I feel lucky. I feel blessed. If you get blessed with some ability, I think you have to work hard at it. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he wasn't the best shooter, even though he had the skill, and he had to work and work at it.
I'll do anything to make my kid laugh.
Actors love the big speeches and love to be the center of attention. I mean, that's why we do it.
I remember seeing 'Dead Poet's Society,' and it made it appealing in a way that I actually went to prep school.
There are certain people you don't have to worry about on set.
There's a bigger percentage of good cops than bad cops. But the bad cops should be penalised like regular people.
You have to work on your own thing. You have to work on yourself, and you have to bring something to the game.
You have to make your choices however you see fit and just keep your integrity as best you can.
Every time I said, 'Man, I'm doing CHiPs,' 100% of the time they would ask, 'Is Erik Estrada going to be in it?'
You can think you know somebody. But when they're trying to punch you in the face, you really know somebody. You learn their tendencies.
I'm an American, and I live pretty well. But go down to Mexico, and a lot of people really don't. So what, we're going to blame them for trying to get out?
There's a certain weird something. I'm always nervous when I spar. You learn it's going to hurt, but it's only going to hurt for a little bit. It brings out the animal in you to an extent. You learn what you can take.
I thought of myself as an individual ever since I was little.
I never wanted to be in a gang. I didn't want to follow anybody's orders.
I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious.
When I started wrestling, I sucked. I hated losing, so I started doing pushups and more squats, and then I did summer wrestling and learned different styles.
I remember I used to think my dad was really cool working at a factory. He used to make buttons. I used to brag, 'This button here, My dad made it.' There was this sense of pride. It's knowing your dad is doing something cool.
I think, in any debate, you have to respect the other person's point of view, if you agree or disagree.
I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.
For me, when I do my best acting, it's mainly imagination. Then I really have a lot of fun with it.
When I did 'Crash,' to be honest with you, it was just another acting job. I just wanted to do as good as I possibly could.
I grew up in the ghetto, and the thing is when there were problems, I knew when to get away.
It would be great to play Cesar Chavez. That would be an interesting role for me.
The reality that everyone is stereotyped - every one gets typecast, so you have to work to get out of that.
Play the role as a human being... human beings are three-dimensional.
I want to do more sci-fi films. I want to play half-alien, half-illegal alien.
I am not afraid to play Latin roles - that was a big part of my life.
When I was a kid, I lived in a poor part of Chicago, and I remember my brother and me using towels as capes. My son does it, too.
It feels good, pouring your heart out over something, and then all of a sudden people are getting inspired.