Self-Surprise Quotes

What I try to do as an actor is constantly find that, find ways to risk, find opportunities to fall on my face if it's going to be worth it, and then maybe I'll surprise myself.

When I play guitar, it's automatic. I don't try to do something; I just do it. And it's already so ingrained in what I do, I don't think about it. I don't try to do something - I just do it. And the more I do it that way, the more I surprise myself. And if I surprise myself, that's the best thing.

If you haven't surprised yourself, you haven't written.

I want to go to places that are unexpected of me because people really think they have me pegged.

I never thought I could model, and I certainly never thought about acting. It's just something that happened to me.

I didn't even expect myself to do music.

Sometimes I even amaze myself, and sometimes I do things that make me want to punch myself in the face.

I wake up every morning and I surprise myself. I wake up to a new me.

I lost a lot. It was almost like I was a retired player where I lost all of my athleticism. I lost everything. Being able to get it back, step by step, little bit at a time, it was like surprising myself.

I always want to surprise myself, more than anybody else.

Sometimes I'm really mean to someone who just hugged me. I never thought that I would be like that.

I don't mind giving everyone a shock - including myself.

An artist's job is to surprise himself. Use all means possible.

It's a trifle hard to surprise yourself with a story you've written.

I always surprise myself with my voice. A lot of people don't get it, and they're like, 'You can't sing. Stop. What are you doing?' And it's funny to hear a lot people say I sing in falsetto because it's not falsetto - that's my voice.

If I ran into myself maybe seven years ago and told myself that I was gonna be an actor, that I'd be in L.A. working at Universal Studios with these amazing people, I'd be like, 'Get out of here. There's no possible way.'

I think I've far exceeded what I ever thought I could possibly do. I'm almost shocked that I'm still around after all of these years . . . and always grateful that I get another turn to do something.

My family wasn't shocked by my success, but I was. But they just knew I'd do something in entertainment.

I am a good and interested mother - which has surprised me.

I'm sometimes surprised by myself: no matter how much time has passed, I wasn't able to accept my inferiority complex. But I did.

I've always been incredibly crazy about the fact that I'd have any fans at all. It says to me that the characters that I choose are interesting to people and that's thrilling to me. It really is.

I've always believed acting is an improvisational art form, even when not a single line is changed. I mean, the behavior should always be improvised. My favorite moments in any performance are when I'm just along for the ride; when I'm surprising myself. I know when I'm done and I think to myself, 'Gee, I didn't see that coming,' I've done well.

For each project I do, I try to surprise myself, do the unexpected, and change my own status quo. From the One Laptop Per Child, the Herman Miller Sayl, or the latest Movado watch collection, there is always an insecurity about being able to do something important. I think each of those projects makes me feel like we have progressed.

If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.

When the doubters tell you it can't be done and all kind of tragedies will come your way, I say nonsense. If you can get to the very root of who you are and make something happen from it, my sense tells me you are going to surprise yourself.