Joseph Gordon-Levitt Quotes

When I was a teenager, if anyone recognized me for anything I did, it would ruin my day. I couldn't handle it. It was some sort of neurotic phobia. I guess I was paranoid that people would treat me differently, or in an unfair way, because of my job.

The important thing is to find what's unique about yourself, find what's unique about someone else. And embrace everything in the moment, as opposed to constantly comparing yourself and your lover and your relationship to a static set of expectations.

I don't blame the people for the fact that so many movies are bad. I think there's a corrupt, perverted, lazy and sloppy attitude that's pervasive in the movie business. The whole entertainment business is kind of crumbling around us.

Sometimes what someone else does is really not what you expected them to do, which to be honest, sometimes doesn't work.

I just like to do work that inspires me, and I don't pay any attention to whether it's a high- or low-budget movie.

My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She would always point out to my brother and me that our culture does often portray women like objects...

There's an absolute prejudice that good movies are dramas and comedies are more dismissable. But I couldn't disagree more.

One thing that stays pretty consistent for all my jobs is, I listen to a lot of music while I'm working.

Being politically active is "more about doing things, not just standing for some platform or being involved in some political party."

If the inspiration is genuine and it's coming from the right place, that's what I like and want to be a part of.

I've always paid a lot of attention to the way that different kinds of media affect how we see the world, probably because I've been an actor since I was a little kid.

The doctor's wife ate two apples a day, just to be safe. But her husband kept coming home.

I think, honestly, that the word 'indie' is a false gimmick. 'Independent' used to mean a movie that was financed outside corporate Hollywood, but a lot of what gets called independent these days is totally produced within that system. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I'd been an actor my whole life, since I was a kid. And then, I quit for awhile and went to university. When I wanted to start acting again, I couldn't get a job, and that was really depressing. So, I realized, at that time, that I have to take responsibility for my own creativity.

We’re all beautiful. We all deserve attention.

Making checklists of things you're looking for in a person is the numero uno thing you can do to guarantee you'll be alone forever.

It's worth paying attention to the roles that are sort of dictated to us and that we don't have to fit into those roles. We can be anybody we wanna be.

I think some of the best actors ever were little kids.

Storytelling in general is a communal act. Throughout human history, people would gather around, whether by the fire or at a tavern, and tell stories. One person would chime in, then another, maybe someone would repeat a story they heard already but with a different spin. It's a collective process.

As soon as you are trying to be funny or dramatic, that's when things start feeling fake and boring.

Movies are different from real life.

The thing about Occupy is that the sentiment the movement embodies is timeless: Don't be greedy, share.

Normally you read a screenplay - and I read a lot of them - and the characters don't feel like people. They feel like plot devices or cliches or stereotypes.

Don't we want to escape our real world and go into something larger than that, simpler than that, more beautiful or darker?

A lot of movies try to set up a world with cool sets, costumes, camera work. In Brick, the world is born from the words.

Most scripts are bad. I read a lot of them.

I didn't really like doing commercials.

Our culture has a tendency to pigeonhole people and to try to tear down anybody who's breaking out of our comfort zone. That's why we get into these cultural ruts that end up being destructive prejudices. But breaking out of that comfort zone is the most rewarding thing you can do, in your life. I do my best to push myself, when I can.

A lot of people, most people who are working, they do it for money. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. It so happens that I made a lot of money already, so I don't have to worry that much about it. I wouldn't fault anybody for doing it for the money, but it doesn't interest me right now.

I think any time you set out to make something, anybody is going to be confronted by those voices in their head that say "You don't need to do this. Someone else can do this better. You should probably just quit right now."

Your kisses are snowflakes: each one is unique. They land on me, before they melt away and leave me cold.

Even today, in our progressive times, in most movies that come out, the men have to have biceps and the women have to be thin or something.

I tend to think having an impact on the world is a lot more complicated than government.

He loved me. He loves me not.

The universe is not made up of atoms; it’s made up of tiny stories.

When you believe that you can do something that's when you can do it.

I was just watching baby videos of me and I was obviously an exhibitionist.

Real life is not like a movie. Even the best movies, the most rich, fleshed-out movies are not as rich and nuanced as detailed as real life or an actual human being.

That's sort of what I wanted to make fun of a little bit with Don Jon. And I think oftentimes, if you're going to talk about a sort of substantial topic like this, the best way to do it is with a sense of humor.

Your heart has a little empty corner. You won't even know I'm there -- I'll be very quiet.

Media used to be one way. Everyone else in the world just had to listen. Now the internet is allowing what used to be a monologue to become a dialogue. I think that's healthy.

I find the voice is what I look for first and foremost with just about every character I play.

I suppose the longer anyone spends on earth, the closer we all get to becoming superfluous characters.

When you become a ghost feel free to haunt me.

There's something really appealing about the simplicity of black-and-white images.

I don't blame folks for not wanting to put me in their movies or whatever. I understand if their audiences had an association with me.

We can be anybody we wanna be.

Let's face it, most pretty girls aren't funny.