Paul Giamatti Quotes

I like playing weird, kind of shady people.

Lead roles are fun, but I'm especially happy other, more colorful supporting stuff has come along.

I learned how to fire a sniper rifle, which I'm sure will be useful at some point.

You are absolutely free to describe me as a turtle or something.

I'm not a big wine guy. And bars, I never go to bars anymore. It's such a drag, man.

I don't mind being stereotyped in some way and playing certain kinds of guys, but if I can find something to occasionally get a break from that, that would be nice. And I feel like I manage to.

And I asked my mother 'can I touch the lady in the water? And she said yes I could, but I had to touch Mommy first. And then I asked, 'Mom, can I date the lady in the water?' and she said smiling 'sure, but you gotta date me first.' And yesterday I said 'Mom, may I marry the lady in the water?' and she said o.k., but you'll have to marry me first.

I always would be happy to make a character even more unlikable, but you know, there's a limit and if you go there, you get into a very different kind of movie, man.

I get tired of myself pretty fast.

The broad comedy thing is really hard to do on film.

The supporting thing can be harder to pop in and out of. The hardest thing is the people who have to come in and play, say, the bartender for a day - that's a lot harder than playing the lead role. You have to pop in and get it right. It's a lot of pressure to just pop in there and fit in and find your footing really fast.

I wouldn't say that I'm aggressive in going out to find work and stuff like that. I just sort of, if something comes along, and it's something I like, and they want to hire me, I'll do it. I won't just do anything.

I don't think I gave a good enough performance to be nominated for it. I thought I gave a fine performance, but those things are supposed to be about giving an extraordinary performance.

I don't consider myself a very interesting person. I have the mentality of a supporting actor.

Somehow whatever I play ends up being sleazy.

Academia is a rarified culture, especially an Ivy League academic background.

As an actor, to have achieved financial stability is amazing. But I always have this weird fear that I'm not going to get any more work; it's about not having enough money.

I think I have a tendency to overwork things. I have a hard time finding that sweet spot that most actors seem to be able to hit where they're doing the exact right amount of work, not overthinking, not underdoing it. I seem to either overdo it or underdo it.

Well, you know, when people say stuff about you, it's always really flattering. But does it mean anything to me? It's not really real to me; there's no reality to it.

I'd like to have permanent time off, really. The goal is financial security and permanent time off, basically.

Sometimes, I think I may be more recognizable because I'm character-looking.

Acting can be a really silly thing. It's like playing dress-up.

I mean, I'm not going to play the hero of something.

It is because my dad died suddenly that I became an actor. I thought, I'm going to make money doing this thing I enjoy.

I married a Jewish lady, and we're raising our son Jewish, and since I'm not Jewish the whole thing is just a mystery to me. I leave it to her, actually, because it's just a great mystery.

Am I really cool? You're telling me I'm cool? Well, that's good to hear.

I find that the crazy narcissists, the selfish loons are often the most fun to be around, weirdly.

I don't think film actors need training, really.

I still want to be the guy who can get on the subway and check out the freak on the subway.