Ensemble Cast Quotes

Right out of school, I did this show called 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.' It is based on a classical text with new music - not necessarily confined by a certain genre. It was a diverse, interesting group of musicians, actors, nonactors, and singers all creating this thing that is bigger than all of us.

The thing that made 'M*A*S*H' so good was the fact that we did have those relationships off-camera and took them on-camera.

I love Modern Family but it's among a handful of favorite shows.

I don't know how (producer) Dan Harmon put that together but he did. Everyone gets along and we all babysit Chevy Chase (laughs) and it all works out. Plus we are given a lot of freedom to riff off each other and compliment each other's comedic style. The group is so talented, whether it be Donald Glover or Allison Brie and now Jim Rash who plays the Dean is finally a full member of the cast - oh my gosh, he is so funny. I call him Rumplestiltskin; he can spin comedy out of anything. I am in such a blessed situation - if only more people would watch it.

When I chose to do 'Carrie,' I never had done anything on camera before. I was always onstage, so everything surprised me. Just going on set and walking into a makeup trailer and seeing Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore - 'Wow, I am part of this ensemble.'

What attracted to me about it was the cast. Working on 'New Girl' - I like working with an ensemble.

St. Elsewhere was certainly a great show.

My father's favorite movie was 'The Dirty Dozen.'

I never watched Friends, maybe because it was written by people straight out of college....The only way to avoid age discrimination in Hollywood is to die young.

One of the things that we love most about our comedy [ American Reunion] is that it goes all-out.

I just rely on the text to speak for itself and then speak it as I believe it to interpret it, and then just know that the rules of the world that we're creating allow for things to come to life, and then just trust in the process of making a film. Hopefully we'll make a sequel, because if we do, we had such a great time as an ensemble, I think the best thing to do would be to just take the whole cast back. This is Iain's idea and I agree with it. Just reincarnate all the characters and put them back into the world. There's no rules. Why couldn't we do that?

It was sort of the first movie [The Specials ] where I really got to let my comedy freak flag fly. And everybody in it made me laugh really hard. I wish more people had seen it.

Dick Van Dyke spent most of his time setting everybody else up.

I don't mind sharing my success with a super star or an entire ensemble cast. I have no qualms being part of a film that has super stars.

I think every film is like a team game, especially for me. I have always got films which have a strong cast.

We did one pilot for FOX which was about this couple that moves to a town, and we play everyone in the entire town. So it was like a Peter Sellers film.

'Tango' is very much an ensemble piece and I was devastated when I read the script.

Independent films now, they want to give you $2 million to make it, 21 days to shoot it and they want 10 movie stars in it.

The biggest thing I've noticed with some of my favorite directors is their gift of sticking a bunch of strangers in a room together and making them comfortable and making them into a cohesive group. There's magic involved, because you don't know why anybody would pick this group of people.

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts act themselves senseless in 'August: Osage County,' and by the time they're finished, they've acted their movie senseless, too.

The script is really always the main attraction, and then there's whether there is an interesting character and great people around you. Those are the key elements that I look for.

The '7500' is with Leslie Bibb. It's a big ensemble with a lot of really good people. I play the pilot of the 747 that something happens on as it crosses the Pacific. It's going to do what 'Jaws' did to the ocean. Not make people want to get on!

Doing 'Magnificent Seven' was a no-brainer.

In 'ABCD1,' it was only me. The character I play has his own charisma. But In 'ABCD2,' the film has gotten bigger with stars like Shraddha Kapoor and Varun Dhawan teaming up with me. The story is also completely different, so viewers can expect something totally new.

If Wes Anderson has a very strong cast, he can direct the minutia of that story and still manage to have something that lives and breathes.