John Turturro Quotes

Al Michaels is a good announcer. I think Keith Jackson is a terrific announcer. I always loved him on Monday Night Football. I never understood why they got rid of him

A lot of those people aren't their best salesmen. They're the opposite of a salesperson and I think there's something attractive about that.

I come from a very expressive family, so it's really not surprising that we became actors. There was a lot of real-life drama in our house. Some of it was drama, some of it was comedy and some of it was comic-tragedy.

I play chess badly and I've been beaten by my 10-year old son

The nice thing about Toronto is there's not a competition.

The past has to inform the present...

A lot of films need planning in order to survive at all. It's part of the dog and pony show

You think of stars as ambitious or aggressive or self-oriented.

In my first film, Five Corners, I played a very scary, violent crazed character, and it exposed me to a lot of directors.

In a lot of movies, honestly, the directors don't talk to you that much. Maybe they say, "Faster, slower," whatever. Sometimes they give you little adjustments, because sometimes you want to start out neutral, but a lot of times you wind up directing yourself anyway, just doing what you think is the right thing to do.

If I was a criminal, stationery stores and bakeries would be the two kinds of places I would concentrate on.

I've always liked clothes. I usually work very closely with the costume designer when I work on films, picking the fabrics and the clothes. And colors convey feelings. I like swatches and things like that. It makes me feel at home.

I think you learn more from looking at how things occurred and what happened afterward, not just at the event

When you're directing, it is a little easier, because when you're the actor, you have a to be a little more of a child. You have to get into the child's aspect of your personality a little bit more.

It's great to watch someone get the most out of what they can do, whether they're a beautiful performer or just a really gritty performer. It's something to behold.

I love to act, and I try to be challenged by what I do

I make a list of what I have in common, and what I don't have in common, with someone I'm playing

The romance stuff is easy. A sex scene... that's hard, because you don't know what to do. Those scenes are awkward.

It's nice to work with people who know and trust you.

Levi is one of the best authors I've ever read. It's hard not to have an immediate personal response to his work. He has such a quiet tone.

Even people within a relationship can be really alone, and then have to go outside of it in order to find something, whatever it is. It may be very bizarre and maybe something very tender.

I think I've had more of a variety in what I've done than most actors

My sensitivity level is high, but I think that's one of my assets as an actor.

My interest lies in my self-expression -- what's inside of me -- not what I'm in.

When I see these guys write all this macho stuff I want to smash their heads.

People are never too young or too old to look for human connection.

Games sometimes can reveal things. To watch someone in movement, unconscious movement, can be very stimulating and revealing, whether they win or not

One thing I have is that I have never been afraid to expose myself in a way, and I really think I got that from my mother. That's a great gift you can give to a child, that they have confidence in their abilities.