Doug Stanhope Quotes

Comedy will always be central to what I do, it's just an instinct for me, but I am a writer and always have been.

Doing a scene truthfully is very similar to doing a song truthfully. They're really parallel.

When people give you a writing assignment, they're asking what you think. That's the very opposite of being an actor. When you're an actor, no one wants to hear what you think.

I don't know what Tracy Morgan does onstage, but I can assure you, it's no act.

My humour has always come from anger, but I have to make sure I don't just get angry and jump on a soapbox.

I was never really a writer, I was always more of a performer.

I always was a writer, but then I wanted to do stand-up because I thought that was a way that I could perform what I wrote.

I have a lot of opinions. I express them in 'Mr. Show' very clearly, I think. I feel like both David Cross and I felt like that show reflected each of us pretty wholly.

I love how much people are drawn to my 'impersonations' of Trump because they aren't really impersonations at all. I'm not trying to be Trump so much as I'm trying to make Trump me. In doing them, I simply ask myself, 'How would I, Sarah Cooper, say these words?'

If I don't feel the music, I can't perform it.

When doing comedy, I do what makes me laugh. The first person I learned from said I should talk about things I am passionate about - that I love or hate - because the audience likes to see passion. The stuff I rant and rave about stems from a place that really pisses me off.

I'd advise all you songwriters out there, if you're getting into it for the business, go home and get a job digging ditches or something. Get a life. You'll learn a lot more, and you won't write a lot of rotten poetry.

I get the greatest joy from just doing anything, being an actor. Doing music, and doing what I love to do. I don't make a huge distinction between comedy and drama. I think the whole point is just trying to be as honest, from moment to moment, as you can be. If you're honest about the material, and the material is ridiculous, then you're in a comedy.

You can bring truth to anything, whether it's a dance movie or an incredibly poignant indie drama or a really broad comedy. As long as you show up to play, I don't think you can go wrong.

I feel like when I'm writing for other people, when I'm doing rap hooks, it's kinda like playing dress up for me...

I would feel really dishonest writing a song that was really sassy, or really confident, because I'm not a supremely confident being. I think that's what people find interesting about what I do; it's very different lyrically.

You saw a lot of guys, especially in the early '90s, whose acts were a pitch for a sitcom. A lot of them were very funny, but there's nothing worse than watching comedians or musicians who are up there and are doing something they're not interested in.

I think that an actor shouldn't work from a place of fear, because it'll show in your work. You should work from a place of contentment, relaxation, and coming from your heart, and from the truth of yourself.

If you just write the kinds of stories you think others will want to read, you'll be competing with cartoonists who are far more enthusiastic for that kind of comic than you are, and they'll kick your ass every time.

What I wanted to be and who I am is a singer and a songwriter. I wanted to be onstage, and I wanted the world to hear my music. The product of that is fame and the disgusting celebrity that goes along with it. But celebrity does not equal creativity.

Keep me up till five because all your stars are out, and for no other reason…Oh dare to do it Buddy! Trust your heart. You’re a deserving craftsman. It would never betray you. Good night. I’m feeling very much over-excited now, and a little dramatic, but I think I’d give almost anything on earth to see you writing a something, an anything, a poem, a tree, that was really and truly after your own heart.

I don't want to be some actor talking about how he wants to be a musician. It's something I'm really passionate about and I don't want to be spouting off at the mouth about something before it's out there and can speak for itself.

Write good content about stuff that you love. Readers will find you.

When people ask me which I would rather give up, writing or medicine, it's like being asked which eye I'd prefer to have poked out with a spoon: neither, and please use a fork.

The process of acting, not necessarily the business of acting, but the actual doing of it in the moment is my greatest kind of personal passion, the thing that brings me alive the most. Also, my two children.