Michael Madsen Quotes

Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness.

Not to sound too pessimistic, but I just don't see me having the film career that I maybe hoped for after 'The Birdcage.' I think people just didn't know what to do with me.

As I'm always fond of telling hosts at the Oscars who are doing it for their first time, for everybody who wins, there are four people who don't. As the evening wears on, the room fills up with losers, and then they are bitter.

There never were any roles for my kind of acting. That's the story of my life.

You don't get a script sent to you for two years, it crosses your mind, 'Gee, what's going on?' Then five years pass, and pretty soon a decade has gone by. Finally, you say to yourself, 'Well, if in fact that's it, then let me be happy with 30 pictures that made about $460 million and pictures that made a lot of people laugh.'

So much luck! I'm not putting myself down, I'm not saying I don't have talent - I must have, to have got this far - but I honestly believe that some of the greatest actors in America are tending bar and waiting tables and driving taxis, and it will never happen for them.

Why do I put myself in a position to be cast aside or not considered as I would like to? Because I am a creative mind, because I still aspire to be one.

My father never saw me play ball, and I was an outstanding ballplayer. I missed all that adoration.

I sleep till one, and I'm always surprised when someone in blue rinse on a talk show says, 'You're a genius, Mr. Newley, you do so many things.' Tony Newley never realized his potential, did the things he should have done.

I've got actor friends who didn't get breaks, who struggle and worry about things that I'm fortunate not to have to worry about.

I have made a number of movies that I have never seen. It's not a matter of ego. It's a matter of being disappointed. It's really a shame. It's just as difficult to make a movie that no one cares about as to make a hit.

Lost in a crowd of greats, not a single Oscar. That's showbiz.

There are a lot of good actors who work forever and never make one good thing.

The world is made up of people who never quite get into the first team and who just miss the prizes at the flower show.

You retire when you are sick and when you can't do it any more or when the public retires you. That's the most painful, because that's the one that leaves you wanting to accomplish more.

I'm blessed and proud and privileged to have played two wonderful characters on television.

You get so tired of having your work die. I just wanted to make something that people would actually use.

There have been records I've been really, really pleased with that haven't connected with people. But I felt good about them.

My biggest criticism is how can people be so easily satisfied? Even people with talent.

There will always be times where you think, 'What went wrong? Why wasn't that one more popular?' You can't always figure that out, especially if you think you've done the best job you can do and was interesting to you. I mean, 'My Soul to Take,' I thought should have done much better, and I still like that film a lot.

If I can just be thought of as Omari Hardwick who had a really, really solid career, and whose work is appreciated in its own right, I think that would be a great legacy to leave behind.

I love everybody at TNT, and they were totally behind 'Trust Me.' I totally loved that show. I feel like it should have had more life.

There's not a day that William and I don't wish that she was... we don't wish that she was still around, and we wonder what kind of a mother she would be now, and what kind of a public role she would have, and what a difference she would be making.

I know great actors whom nothing has ever happened for.

Actually, my career as a music director turned out to be a disappointment. I believed I gave good songs but the response and recognition from the industry was not great.