Unconventional Talent Quotes

When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven in the age of the romantics

I've wanted to be a writer since I was a boy, though it seemed an unlikely outcome since I showed no real talent. But I persevered and eventually found my own row to hoe. Ignorance of other writers' work keeps me from discouragement and I am less well-read than the average bus driver.

The fact that I could sing in a way that might not be right for RADA but is right for me was a brand-new concept.

In comedy, it's not the glamorous, beautiful people that are great at comedy. They're either every man or every woman, they're either quite tall and lanky or shorter and fatter or have a big nose. They have something physically about them that makes them into a comic stereotype.

The thing is, I knew from the very first audition that I did not fit the classic 'X Factor' criteria.

I don't have a burning desire to act, strangely enough. I don't know that if I hadn't been an actor as a young person, I don't know that I ever would have chosen this because it's not really my personality.

I can snap my toes. Everyone keeps asking me this, but I know it's kind of weird, but I think it's fun that I can snap my toes.

I've never taken an acting lesson in my life, and it's not my chosen profession, so I'm flattered when people say I can do it and give me props for doing it.

If Romeo can do 'Dancing with the Stars,' anything is possible.

I've often thought that it would be great to do some acting because nobody would think that I would be able to do it and it scares the living hell out of me.

I was discovered out of nowhere. I didn't have family that was in the industry. I didn't know anyone in L.A.; I didn't have any reason to have been discovered. Nowadays, you have YouTube, and people are scouting more, but I really was plucked out of obscurity.

It attracts all types. But I definitely call the comedy world the land of misfit toys. Looking around the room at my friends, that's what I see.

You don't need to be talented. You don't even have to play the guitar to be a guitar player in a punk-rock band. So I, in a very naïve and teenage way, said, "That's it. I'm going to be in a band."

Basically, I was a freak show. This kid with this big old voice. I was a travelling freak.

Directors didn't know what to do with me in college. I didn't really sound like a belter. I didn't look like a soprano. But in New York, I was in the right place at the right time, where my unusualness fit the bill.

You know, 'Peepshow,' in retrospect that seems like a good fit for me, but in the beginning, I'm sure you remember, nobody was sure if the show was going to last. Everybody was like, 'What are you doing? You can't sing, and you can't dance. What are you doing in this show?'

Here is how to handle being a feral prodigy.

Everybody told me to stay in Hollywood. This was the place they said I could have a big career. What they failed to mention was that no one would quite know what to do with me.

I'm a huge karaoke person even though I have the worst singing voice. When you love doing something, who cares?

A unique style comes from not being able to do things in a conventional manner. If David Byrne could have sung like Paul McCartney, he would have.

There are some people who are naturally talented, who just have it coming out of their ears; they just sparkle with talent. Some people - and I put myself in this category - don't fit a mould. I always looked a lot older. I was as tall as a giraffe, even at ten, but I found my place, and I really worked at it.

I used to take circus lessons. I dreamt of being picked up in the street because they saw me doing something circus-like.

I'm one of those actors who's going to have to create a space for themselves. It's very easy to be the young Tom Cruise, because Hollywood knows what to do with you. But if you're someone who's bringing someone slightly left of center to the table, you're not a sure thing.

Growing up in a band is weird - you get stuck hanging on to what it is you think you are. But what I took into Depeche was that punk ethic, that you don't have to be accomplished to be a musician. If you've got ideas, you can do this.

During the Hollywood studio system, they looked for people who were unusual. The stars had peculiarities.