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You can't be a proper comic unless you've been out on stage and felt the fear.

When you work on a pre-existing character, when you end up getting invited to be part of a legacy character like Superman, I don't feel like it would be true to the character if all I did was go in looking to express my own voice.

While many comics have a secret persona, I fundamentally want to be myself.

It was very natural that people just think of me as a comic actor.

The whole point in developing your own style is to find your own voice.

I've been getting in trouble my whole life and I really don't care what anybody thinks of what I do on stage as a comic.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious, like Daniel Day-Lewis. No one really dreams of being a comic actor, do they? Now I realise how stupid that is - and it's because comic acting isn't taken seriously enough. It's a discipline. You know instantly - either you're funny and getting the laughs, or you're not.

Still when I go on talk shows, I worry that I have to live up to a comedic persona.

A lot of comics aren't their on-screen personas; Chris Rock isn't always ranting and raving. What I do is make myself this over-the-top character that people either find endearing or they think is a joke. Then I can do anything I want.

One of the key characteristics of the comic book medium is that it is not brought to life by just one voice.