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I think great humor lies in playing the truth of a situation.

I see myself as a performer and that applies to a Greek drama or a modern comedy.

Laurence Olivier said in an interview once that when he plays a tragedy he always aims for the funny parts, and the other way around. Because in a comedy you look for what's serious. I think that's true. Sometimes things are really funny if you're absolutely earnest. If you're really serious, it's hilarious.

And regardless of the fact that in this country, certainly in the arts, we treat comedy as a second-class citizen, I've never thought of it that way. I've always thought it to be important. The last time I looked, the Greeks were holding up two masks. I've always thought of it not only as having equal value, but as the craft of it, being funny.

I try to find humor in everything I do, because I think all great plays - even great tragedies - have enormous humor in them.

I think that comedy is one of the more serious things that you can do in our day, especially in the world that we're living in.

There's obviously a lot of tragedy in comedy; I really enjoy the paradox of what a really good comedy is.

I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious.

I think serious situations actually make for the best kind of belly laughs. But they're also the hardest to convert into comedy at the outset.

I always have humour in my action movies. I think characters that make jokes under fire are more real. It somehow helps put you in their shoes.