Author

Acting is trying to be absolutely truthful; to get audiences to believe that you are a dean, when, actually, not only are you not the dean, but if you walked into the building they'd probably throw you out. That's very hard.

From Wallace Shawn

Before I was 5, I did have a lot of time on my hands. I had no job and really no career, and I spent an awful lot of time listening to records. It was more the classical ones, really - Prokofiev, and I think there was some Mozart in there, and more impressionistic composers like Delius.

From Wallace Shawn

I spend most of my time thinking about things like laundry and buying stationery supplies.

From Wallace Shawn

From being a writer of plays, it was not that surprising that somebody thought of giving me a job as an actor. After I played one part, others came along.

From Wallace Shawn

Patriotism is considered to be an emotion a person ought to feel. But why? Why is it nobler to love your own country than to love someone else's?

From Wallace Shawn

If I had even the tiniest scrap of advice to give to a young actor who was figuring out how to audition, I would say don't memorize the script... The reality about auditions is that 98 percent of the results has to do with what you are, not with what you did in the audition.

From Wallace Shawn

I don't happen to have a sense of humor personally, so I don't know what's funny about a character... This happens to be a feature of my life generally.

From Wallace Shawn

I have been vain since birth. I expected other people to like what I did, although my vanity has definitely diminished over the years.

From Wallace Shawn

I never planned to be an actor. It turned out I could make a living doing it.

From Wallace Shawn

For me, a play is a form of writing which isn't complete until it is interpreted by actors. But it's still a form of writing. And so most of my time is spent thinking about how to write a sentence.

From Wallace Shawn

Wallace Shawn

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