I would never do a role where I'm naked in bed with a chick having sex.
It is a paradox to say the human body has no 'limit.' There must be a limit to the speed at which men can run. I feel this may be around 3:30 for the mile. However, another paradox remains - if an athlete manages to run 3:30, another runner could be found to marginally improve on that time.
I think when I was a younger actor, I did carry that stuff home. When I did ...And Justice For All, I was afraid to drop the character. But when you get older, you learn to go, "Okay, that's it. Let's go have dinner."
I don't know that I could play a complete and total mess. After awhile, I think I would be like, 'No, none of that!'
No actor has complete freedom.
Every actor has a different temperament. Part of my job is to know what those boundaries are. The actor has to know you'll be there at the other end, that you're trying to represent them in the best light, who they are as they're harnessing these roles. The methods vary from actor to actor.
I allowed artists to play for as long as they felt they could justifiably continue to create.
It's really important to draw the line on what we do as actors.
In acting, one should look at the film in totality. Improvisations should only be made keeping in mind the limits of a character. Always believe in team work.
When you play arenas you can create whatever you want. At a theater the height of the stage and the limitations of the theater can make you feel more separate from the audience.
Once the scene is over, I come out of it. I don't carry the character with me for long as many actors do.
If you sat down and you wrote a script, you may write something that's way beyond what you've ever seen me do, but if you thought of me to do it, I would be flattered to be asked to do something other than be wise.
I can still improve a lot, but there is definitely a limit to what the human body can do.
As an actor, you're tied to the writing. You live and die by what's written for you. And you can elevate that to a certain extent, but really, that's your blueprint.
In film, there's this kind of constant fear that you're going to be doing too much. That may be an unfounded fear because I love sizable performances on film, especially when they're by performers who push the boundaries of what people deem the right kind of size.
If it is within limits and forms part of the storyline, I have no hesitation in doing glamour roles.
I was just trying to blend the standup that I do almost with like the visual sketch stuff that I did on "Saturday Night Live." And so in terms of how elastic in the world is, we'll see what we can get away with [in John Mulaney show].
Theatre is so much fun because you do theatre and you have a month of working it out on your own, and then a month of rehearsal, so by the time you get to stage I know where I'm failing and I know where I'm succeeding and your boundaries are pretty concrete.
You always agree with other actor beforehand: Are we going to fake it or are you OK with me hitting you? I've never met an actor who doesn't want to really go there. I would be disappointed in myself if I was like "Don't hit me."
