I never really thought of myself as being an action hero or a leading man or any of that. I'm a character actor.
Aaron Paul
I'm a character actor.
I consider myself absolutely a character actor, and that's what I want as a career. I don't need to be the lead star or any of that, as long as I'm doing stuff that I'm proud of, really.
I see myself as a character actor, and I've always been drawn to playing characters that are different from myself because acting is escapism for me. I've never been that comfortable playing people that are like me.
Alessandro Nivola
I started off as an actor thinking that I would be this Romeo, this dashing leading man. It turns out that I'm a character actor.
I enjoy being a character actor; I enjoy being different in everything. I want a private life; I want to be able to go to 7-11 and not get into a fight with a guy because he saw me in a movie, or not have people hitting on me simply because they saw me in a movie.
Alexis Arquette
Character actors aren't a brand in the same way that high-profile leading men are.
Alfred Molina
I always wanted to be a character actor. I love watching movies where you don't recognize someone because they're so lost in the part.
Alison Elliott
You know when you watch old movies, it's always the small parts you remember, the character actors who come in like a breath of fresh air.
Amy Sedaris
I played crying people in corsets for a long time, but I went into acting to be a character actor.
Anna Maxwell Martin
I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in their professional and chronological lives.
Annie Potts
I want to play everything. I want to be like Christian Bale: I want to be able to be Batman and then, like, his character in 'The Fighter.' That is what is so impressive about really good actors, that they can be character actors and leading men at the same time.
Ansel Elgort
In the years since I worked with John Hughes, there were many years where I literally had hundred of doors slammed in my face because I wasn't that kid anymore, and I wasn't a character actor, and I wasn't a leading man, and I wasn't whatever Hollywood was looking for.
Anthony Michael Hall
As a character actor, you go out for all different kinds of things.
Arden Myrin
I have about as much control over how I look as the guy who's short and looks more like a character actor - we both have the same drive to be actors and we both have the same drive to assume these different characters, it's just harder for me to get the chance because they look at me and say, 'Oh, he's this type,' and they stamp me.
Armie Hammer
I always knew I'd be more of a character actor than a leading man, and I always wanted to take that and run with it.
B. D. Wong
If you're a 'character actor,' you get hired to play baddies a lot.
Ben Mendelsohn
Frequently over the years, people have thought that they know me. Every character actor has this story, I'm sure. It goes like this: 'Um, do you play soccer?' 'Did you go to such and such church?' 'I knew you when you were with so and so... ' Then I go, 'Well, sorry...' and then they say, 'Wait a minute. Are you an actor?'
Beth Grant
I like flawed characters very much. A lot of times I get asked to do parts that are kind of small but key - three-scene roles that are three kick-ass scenes. Growing up, watching as many movies as I did, I was always into character actors like that.
Bobby Cannavale
I think every character actor at some stage likes to carry a film. It can be extremely liberating to just come in for a scene or two and do your thing. But I find it frustrating if I'm just doing little bits here and there for too long.
Brendan Gleeson
I'm definitely a character actor. I've tried to limit anything with a uniform because I've done it so much. There's a lot more I can offer. It's just getting people to see something else.
The ability to stretch my range into all genres and characters is something I take great pleasure in doing. I thoroughly enjoy it. I consider myself a character actor, though some think of me as a leading man. As an actor, I love shifting gears from character to character, and the more range I can expand, the better.
I'm a character actor, so I don't take the hit if the movie's bad, the lead does. So, I don't want to be the lead. He takes the hit, I don't.
I like the wild characters. I like the idea of being a character actor without being a character actor.
I think it would be amazing to be a character actor and still be a lead now and then in movies.
I consider myself a character actor.
I think every leading man wants to be a character actor, and every character actor wants to be a leading man.
I think of myself as a character actor, compared to a straight actor. I know a character actor in England is pretty much the same as in the States; you're actually hired to put on terrible teeth and stuff like that.
I'm so excited about 'Shattered;' it's something I've really enjoyed working in, and it's very different from anything I've done before. I've always been a character actor and done a lot of support work. I've never really been the lead actor, so I'll try and use what I've learned along the way from the other projects.
I'm a character actor and I get lost in these characters, so I think it's only recently that people have begun to connect dots and go, 'Oh, that's the same person that did this, this, this, this and this!' which I take as a compliment. One time somebody called me an illusionist, and that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said.
Those offers come in now and again. They're not knocking down my door. I'm only an old character actor, and I'm not needed.
I was born a character actor.
The actors I admire are character actors.
I think I enjoy working obviously as a lead, but also you know I feel I'm also a character actor as well, so I enjoy approaching various projects in all sort of capacities. Any film I have been able to do I feel very fortunate to have been a part of.
I always thought of myself as a character actor. I never thought of myself as a leading man.
I do think I'm a character actor.
Well, I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys.
Well, I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys. So it never surprises me. And if it's good writing, you can find your way into the part well enough.
I'm a character actor but unlike a lot of character actors, I don't look radically different from film to film and there was a bunch of them at once.
It's the weirdest thing. When you go into acting, you expect to be a huge star and to be recognized... It did happen, but not in the way you expect it to... In L.A., I'm just another character actor.
The nice thing is that, at least in Los Angeles, I'm known as a character actor and I do auditions for other things besides just cartoon shows.
William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time, and as a fan, I want to make sure that I do him justice.
Growing up, I really looked up to the classic Hollywood actors like Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum, and Peter Falk. I love character actors - I've never wanted to be the leading guy.
I admire many actors, though I don't think there's anyone whose career I would want to mirror sort of by the beats. What I'm really looking to do is constantly defy expectations. I'm very curious to see if you can actually have a character actor and a movie star's career combined.
I'd love to be remembered as a character actor who brought illumination to roles in wonderful plays and who delivered performances that made people think and rethink those roles.
I haven't always had the money rolling in. I'm a character actor; it's not like I'm Gwyneth Paltrow - so I do have hard times still in my life. And that's even more why it's like you know what, I'm not that different from people going through it. I struggle; I look for a better deal at the grocery store.
Between New York and L.A., and all of us who are actors, I feel like we're just one big, cast repertory company, all running back and forth between the coasts and between different shows. There is a wealth of great character actors, who show up, here and there, on different shows. I love the fact that we're allowed to do that.
Character actors have a long shelf life.
I think all actors are supposed to be character actors.
I'm just a character actor.
