James Arthur Quotes

Once I decided to be a different person on stage, I got the chance to be larger than life and over the top, which I love.

Ventriloquism kind of helped me find my voice. It's really helped me come out of my shell.

I decided that instead of apologizing for having a lot to say, I wanted to create a format where people would come to hear me sing and speak.

One place that I really feel comfortable is being a comedienne. I'm very socially inept. There's so many things that I can not do in life, and this is, like, the one thing that I have mastery over. It's my world. And anybody who's coming to the show, it's like they're coming because they know that this is my world.

When I was 3, I recited a poem at a festival in Passaic, New Jersey. The applause was tremendous, and it hit me that I could affect people positively by performing.

The beauty of me being on stage is I have a voice.

I mean, you still can't jump offstage and go read a book. But I'm getting better at it. It is something you can manage. You can still give everything you have to the audience onstage, and have something for yourself.

I am the kind of person that wants to get up in front of crowds of strangers and perform monologues. To each their own.

I was brought up in a house full of women; the first time I realised no one was interrupting me was when I was on stage - that's probably the subconscious reason I became an actor.

I always had the idea that I wanted to perform. I love being the center of attention - and I always love talking about myself.

In real life I'm very low-key. A wallflower. One of the reasons I went into comedy and acting was that I was sick of being shy.

Once I started doing stand-up, everything fell into place. That was when I started acting more; I felt like I'd found my place in the business.

It was a big step, to go from not talking to people to stepping on to a stage. That's when I felt the most comfortable, because I could do anything I wanted to and say anything I wanted to, even if people didn't laugh.

In high school, I was too shy to perform. It's one thing to get laughs from your family, to be funny at parties and in class. It's another thing to get up on the stage.

I never got nervous performing my own material.

Whether it means having a show, or a movie, or just being on a stage, I need an avenue to say what I have to say.

I enjoy my public speaking. That's what I love doing. It's what I'm good at.

When I was 20, I used to go around telling stories, and I knew where I was comfortable - onstage, talking, making 'em laugh and listen to the weirdest things. I liked being the center of attention.

Stand-up was my entree into the entertainment world. I didn't have to act out somebody else's words. I could just stand there with a microphone, and nobody would interrupt me. It's the most narcissistic thing you could probably do.

I got to a point where I wanted to have some dignity in what I'm saying onstage. I want people to hear what I'm saying, regardless of whether or not it gets a laugh. That became a lot more rewarding than straight acting could ever be for me.

I want to be able to deliver the kind of show that I want - to go onstage with my chin held up.

I realised that I really liked to be on stage, and that I wanted to pursue it.

I'm really articulate when I do my thing - when I speak on the mic, when I do interviews. I'm a colorful personality.

I won the speech competition in class, and I always say this was my first 'spoken word performance.' It was the first time I got on stage and recited something. I fell in love with the stage at the age of 12.

As a kid, I was really shy. Technically I am still, but when I'm performing I want everybody to listen.