Top 94 Quotes & Sayings by Paul Giamatti - Page 2

I want to be a villain with steel hands or something. I want to be the crazy, world-domination-obsessed villain. I would love to be a Bond villain.

Honestly, I never wanted to be more than a good supporting actor. Really, I enjoy it.

I try to avoid people as much as possible. They might change my life!

I really only started doing film in '97. I mean, before then, I just pretty much did theater.

The problem with getting injured when you get older is that it takes longer to recover.

'Rosemary's Baby' is a real New York movie, even though you wouldn't necessarily think of it as one, though I do.

Growing up, I didn't know where I was headed, except to the grave or maybe to the gutter. I went through wanting to do a lot of things, but acting wasn't one of them.

I was an English major at Yale, but I did do undergraduate theater there. And I went to the graduate school for acting.

The 'Planet of the Apes' movies made me wanna - probably unconsciously - be an actor. Seriously. And The Mummy - and 'Hammer horror' movies. 'Fantastic.' I loved stuff like that, and that stuff probably did more than anything to make me wanna do it.

Am I an anxious guy? I think I have been called upon as an actor a lot to access emotions like that. But I don't really think I am a big worrier. I don't see myself like that. But I guess other people do. Which is maybe worrying in itself.

I really do like a really good science fiction movie and a really good horror movie. Those are the kinds of things I really like. But, I mean, I'm not into sort of like slasher movies. I like a really good science fiction movie, which is hard to do. They don't make many really good ones any more.

I worked with J. T. Walsh - it was one of the best experiences I ever had - a fantastic actor and a great guy. I was in the last movie that he did: 'The Negotiator.' He died a couple of months after that. He was great.

In a weird way, I like to find the quirkiness in ordinary things. I like to find what is ordinary in quirky people.

When I did 'Lady in the Water,' the most exciting thing to me was to get to work with Bob Balaban - I couldn't leave the guy alone. I drove him crazy. He's fantastic and a hilarious guy.

My father died in 1989 before I knew what I was going to do with my life. I had just graduated from college. My mother died just before 'Sideways' came out. She knew I was an actor, but she never saw me become successful.

I think one of the great things about acting is the instant gratification: you just get up and start being a part of the story. The immediacy is something you get really addicted to.

I feel like in a lot of ways I've gotten kind of soft as an actor, not doing stage stuff. In terms of being a better actor, it's really important.

Come on, man.... Hemingway, Sexton, Plath, Woolf. You can't kill yourself before you're even published.

I married a Jewish lady, and we're raising our son Jewish, and since I'm not Jewish the whole thing is just a mystery to me. I leave it to her, actually, because it's just a great mystery.

And I asked my mother 'can I touch the lady in the water? And she said yes I could, but I had to touch Mommy first. And then I asked, 'Mom, can I date the lady in the water?' and she said smiling 'sure, but you gotta date me first.' And yesterday I said 'Mom, may I marry the lady in the water?' and she said o.k., but you'll have to marry me first.

I felt like I did lots of crappy work in the past. I can't even tell.

I have a son who's been raised Jewish because his mom is Jewish. I have a whole different set of holidays to celebrate. Everybody is thrown together with their family in such an intense way, opening all of that stuff again. You're cooped up with everybody and forced to exist with them, and you're forced to try to relate to them in this way that's more open. I guess that just doesn't work for a lot of people.

I wouldn't say that I'm aggressive in going out to find work and stuff like that. I just sort of, if something comes along, and it's something I like, and they want to hire me, I'll do it. I won't just do anything.

I don't think I gave a good enough performance to be nominated for it. I thought I gave a fine performance, but those things are supposed to be about giving an extraordinary performance.

I get a fair amount of time between projects, which is great. It takes me awhile to start getting nervous about getting another job again. I don't mind having a lot of down time. I'm pretty lazy. So I really don't mind it. But I'm lucky; I work fairly steadily. I'm lucky that I've managed to do that.

I get tired of myself pretty fast. So I can't imagine other people don't get tired of me.

I'd like to have permanent time off, really. The goal is financial security and permanent time off, basically.

Maybe it's because I have too much pride or self-respect, but I thought, `Why does a guy who has thinning hair and who is overweight have to be a loser or a joke?'

I just don't want to be bored. That's the only criteria I have when I choose a role to play. I like it if the script is good and the director seems like he's gonna be good. But if I can find a variety of things to do, which I feel like I manage to do, as far as the actual performing goes and the character, that's huge for me. To be able to feel like I can do a fairly diverse array of things. I've been lucky in that way. I don't mind being stereotyped in some way and playing certain kinds of guys, but if I can find something to occasionally get a break from that, that would be nice.

I think that deep down all I have been looking for is to be accepted and liked by as many people as possible.

The broad comedy thing is really hard to do on film.

I think I have a tendency to overwork things. I have a hard time finding that sweet spot that most actors seem to be able to hit where they're doing the exact right amount of work, not overthinking, not underdoing it. I seem to either overdo it or underdo it.

My definition of likeable may be different from other people's. That's not traditional likeable. Sympathy is a different thing [to define it].

I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don't like. I think I've gotten a little easier on myself, or at least a little more usefully critical of myself. I think before, I just couldn't take looking at myself at all.