Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
People always accused me of not smiling like my rival Olga Korbut, but that was just my personality. When you're balancing on a nine-inch beam, you have to concentrate. But if you look back at the footage, I was always smiling and waving at the crowd after my performances.
I'm always trying to make myself laugh. I'm the most enthusiastic audience I'm likely to find, so if it doesn't make me smile then it probably won't work on you. The jokes that only make me shrug get cut.
We sometimes laugh from ear to ear, but it would be impossible for a smile to be wider than the distance between our eyes.
I'm a happy guy. I just want to see people laugh and smile.
When I was in improv workshops or doing stand-up or writing comedy with others, or just doing comedy, I just laughed. Funny was funny; I loved to laugh. I always liked people I found generally funny.
I learned very early that an audience would relax and look at things differently if they felt they could laugh with you from time to time. There's an energy that comes through the release of tension that is laughter.
I never smile unless I mean it.
I play guys who never smile, and I never stop smiling.
Laughter is regional: a smile extends over the whole face.
I don't smile much, and I never laugh. If you'd been through what I've been through, you wouldn't be smiling, either.