Top 100 Character Comedy Quotes
#1. I've always just loved drawing and loved cartoons. Growing up, I loved Disney films, I loved The Simpsons, and I was a big fan of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes and the way that they would have weird fantasy and then down-to-earth funny character comedy.
Alex Hirsch
#2. I believe people leave a theater bonding with characters. Story is the vessel that carries character. Comedy is a very important component of expressing character.
Chris Meledandri
#3. When I came on the scene, there was The Nualas, who were doing character comedy, but there weren't any other women doing stand-up because Michelle Read had gone more into theatre.
Deirdre O'Kane
#4. When you do something unusual, the audience doesn't 100 percent know what you're up to in the beginning. And if you're doing a character comedy, they haven't learned the characters yet.
Greg Daniels
#5. 'Sightseers' started off as a character comedy double act.
Alice Lowe
#6. My thing was always more character-driven comedies, not sketch comedy - not that there's not room for both or one isn't enjoyable, just my personal taste, I like movies that comedy comes from out of flaws of people, things that are uncomfortable, out of tragedy.
Vince Vaughn
#7. A solid base for any comedy is just honesty and truth, and it coming from a real place. As surreal as this show gets and is, ultimately, we're dealing with a character that most can't see the way that I can see it.
Elijah Wood
#8. Comedy comes from a place of hurt. Charlie Chaplin was starving and broke in London, and that's where he got his character 'the tramp' from. It's a bad situation that he transformed into comedic one.
Chris Tucker
#9. I'd love to do a romantic comedy. And perhaps, if the character was right and I had a good gut instinct, a Bollywood movie. And I'd love to direct. One day. I'm learning a lot on the set of 'The Good Wife.'
Archie Panjabi
#10. I think I'm interested in these kinds of character dramas, psychological dramas, domestic dramas, whatever you want to call them - comedy dramas.
Lisa Cholodenko
#11. I love the idea of doing comedy, whether it's action comedy or just straight comedy. It's such a big, new world for me that I'm starting to realize that any character that I relate to, in any way, shape or form, or that I have any appreciation for, given enough preparation, I can find that person.
Zoe Bell
#12. Maybe I'll just become a cartoon character because there's nothing left for me to do in an R-rated comedy.
Seann William Scott
#13. I look for characters that are fun and that I'm going to have fun playing. By the way, that's whether it's drama, sci-fi, action, comedy, family movies or action-comedy. I just always want to have fun doing it. That's the bottom line.
Dwayne Johnson
#14. I really think if you take away a character's obstacles then there's no comedy.
Kunal Nayyar
#15. You won't hear a character's friend say this in a romantic comedy. Taylor Swift won't sing this, Eminem won't rap it, and Suzanne Collins won't write it, but it's true: just because you're "in love" with someone doesn't mean you should seriously consider marrying them.
Gary L. Thomas
#16. I would have to say that I have to concentrate more when I'm doing comedy. There are so many details that make up any character, but developing a character for a dramatic role seems to come more naturally.
Kaitlyn Dever
#17. It's hard to really get that excited about movies. Think about it like this: how many good comedy movies come out a year? Maybe one or two? And then, in those movies, what are the chances that there's a character that I'm the best fit to play? It's really small!
Aziz Ansari
#18. All the parts I get offered are character and comedy parts, and I probably wouldn't get them if I had a different face. So I'm glad I have a comedy face.
Mackenzie Crook
#19. A favorite film of mine is 'Office Space' and I love 'The Hangover.' That is a really good comedy from character in that film, and that is true of 'Office Space' too.
Seth Gordon
#20. If I'm really considering doing film from now on then that is the smart thing to do, or you can go either way. You can just do the same character over and over again and make a different comedy like over and over again.
Ray Romano
#21. When you're doing an out-and-out comedy, the notion of preparing for a character - I hope I don't reveal too much of myself here - but, uh, no, I'm not doing anything.
Will Ferrell
#22. A comedy isn't about being funny," said Mrs. Baker.
"We talked about this before."
"A comedy is about character who dare to know that they may choose a happy ending after all. That's how I know."
"Suppose you can't see it?"
"That's the daring part," said Mrs. Baker.
Gary D. Schmidt
#23. If it's strictly comedy, I like to bring some darkness to it. If it's strictly drama, I always like to lighten it up as well. I like to find some kind of dimension and make my characters human, so that it doesn't feel like a sketch and feels more like a slice of life.
Nestor Carbonell
#24. When you do your comedy and your drama, your acting style doesn't change. If it's a comedy, the situations and the characters might be a little funnier, but you're just trying to be honest.
Jonah Hill
#25. It was wonderful to be able to play a character who had so many colors and who was able to play comedy, to play incredibly vulnerable, which he did a lot of the time, to play the love story, and to play the relationship with the son, which is quite unusual. That's a gift to me, as an actor.
John Noble
#26. If you do something that is not gags and punchlines and is character-based, where there are no jokes as such, then it all has to come from a place of truth, and I love that - I love nothing more than getting very serious about my comedy.
Darren Boyd
#27. The strongest should come first in comedy because once a character is really established as funny everything he does is funny.
F Scott Fitzgerald
#28. I think you're bound to get a sense of any character that you play. It's not something you often do in comedy.
Rowan Atkinson
#29. It's easier to play a dim character, for me, because I have a natural bent for comedy. It's not intrinsic for me to be crafty, so I would have to go outside for a source of origin. I think of myself as pretty dim.
Stephen Root
#30. I have a little sister, and I'm constantly annoyed [by] how terribly written most females are in most everything - and especially in comedy. Their anatomy seems to be the only defining aspect of their character, and I just find that untrustful and it straight-up offends me.
Jay Baruchel
#31. I'd love to do a comedy like 'Bridesmaids;' I think that would be so fun. I would play the Kristen Wiig character.
Emma Roberts
#32. Comedy historians take note: this Gottfried character doesn't have the best eye for detail - and, for a Jew, he doesn't have the best eye for retail, either.
Gilbert Gottfried
#33. I like to do comedy, but I'll be perfectly honest, I prefer to do drama and more character-driven-based stuff, generally.
Matt Dillon
#34. My hopes and aspirations haven't changed since I started in this business. They've been to be able to play drama, to be able to play comedy, to be able to play leading men, and to be able to play character roles. I have no other aspirations in this regard.
Rob Lowe
#35. When I was starting out, I thought I would go into comedy and there would be a mentor, like the Philip Seymour Hoffman character in 'Almost Famous,' in my life, and there just wasn't. It was really frustrating for me because I desired that so much.
Mike Birbiglia
#36. Does talking to yourself in the voice of your fictional character count as being social?
Michelle M. Pillow
#37. To be honest, I am somebody that, as long as I have a character, it doesn't really matter if it's comedy or drama - I think timing is important in either. But for me, it's all about having a character to work on.
Hannah Tointon
#38. Hollywood constantly wants to label you and type you into a certain category, 'Oh he's a comedy guy,' or the weirdo character guy or the villain.
Sam Rockwell
#39. I learned that comedy is born out of strong characters. I won't begin writing a character until I have a clear take on them.
Maria Semple
#40. Confident people, who understand comedy, improvise so much better than people who are scared. You can't be scared to improvise. You have to know your character, and then you have to let go.
Marlon Wayans
#41. Sometimes I would like the opportunity to do character-driven comedy and that's really what I was trying to do in Meet The Parents. I think in a way this is a more old fashioned type of comedy.
Jay Roach
#42. I think that you can fall into bad habits with comedy ... It's a tightrope to stay true to the character, true to the irony, and allow the irony to happen.
Ben Kingsley
#43. I didn't set out to be a villain in film. I'm a character actor, and if my first movie was a comedy, I could have played a geek just as well.
William Zabka
#44. Kathy Burke has been a real inspiration. I think she's brilliant. I like the fact she doesn't care what she looks like on TV and just gets really into character. Obviously, she can do drama as well, but it's her comedy I love.
Sheridan Smith
#45. The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character I may be portraying because they are essentials for presenting truth.
Ed Asner
#47. Comedy needs to happen naturally and be in touch with the character. When you see that guy in your office that everybody laughs at, he doesn't think he's funny. He's just being him, and that's the joke.
Terry Crews
#48. The most difficult character in comedy is that of the fool, and he must be no simpleton that plays that part.
Miguel De Cervantes
#49. For me, my preference for comedy is grounding it in the psychology of the character, and not just kind of making faces. Even when it's a crazy character, grounded comedy resonates more with people because it doesn't look like you're watching someone do vaudeville. No offense to vaudeville.
Matt McGorry
#50. A lot of actors are like, 'Why do I do this? My character wouldn't do this? This doesn't make sense.' And in a comedy, you kind of just need to walk into the door.
Kathryn Hahn
#51. To my way of thinking, whether it's a superhero movie or a romance or a comedy or whatever, the most important thing is you've got to care about the characters. You've got to understand the characters and you've got to be interested. If the characters are interesting, you're half-way home.
Stan Lee
#52. I'm not a comedian. I don't do stand-up. I don't tell jokes. I'm a comedic actor, and approach my work that way. The comedy comes through the character.
Eugene Levy
#53. [ 1600 Penn] is an ensemble comedy about a family. It just happens to utilize the fact that my character is now being forced into this world as a jumping off point. But, in no way is it the crux of the series. It's simply an introduction to the world.
Josh Gad
#54. I don't know if there is a gene for comedy, but my dad was a very funny man. He just didn't know it. He was a naturally funny character, and when my brother and I would laugh at things he said and did, he would say, 'What do you think is so funny?'
James Belushi
#55. I'm going old school. Adult comedy but you can have your kids in the room. Kind of Andy Griffith meets Bill Cosby meets Bob Newhart. Also my character isn't an idiot as all the rest of the sitcoms recently have the dad character like Homer Simpson.
Henry Cho
#56. The way I approach any role, whether it's comedy or drama, I like to look for the truth first. I think comedy for the sake of comedy wears dull pretty quickly. You have to ground the character in reality first and allow the audience to sympathize, emphasize and be more invested.
Matt McGorry
#57. In order for comedy to be funny you have to play the truth of the moment. But if you're not being completely truthful to the basis of the character, its not going to be funny.
Stephen Root
#58. There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.
Washington Irving
#59. I'd like to be the John Wayne of the '90s. Not in terms of being the macho guy, but as a solid male leading character. Making an action-adventure comedy that kids can see with their families is a natural extension of what I did in wrestling.
Hulk Hogan
#60. In sketch comedy, wear your character like a hat, not a suit of armor.
Andy Daly
#61. I didn't want to do comedy again. It is way harder when you are doing comedy. You can't just concentrate on the character and the plot. In comedy, the writers, instead of obsessing about character and plot, obsess about the jokes.
Patricia Richardson
#62. The cleverest character in comedy is the clown, for he who would make people take him for a fool, must not be one.
Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
#63. Fortunately, we have writers who very much respect the classic characters and the integrity of the classic characters, that are also terrific comedy writers and are able to put these classic characters in new and interesting, and quite funny situations for today.
Bob Bergen
#64. For me, it's nice to have a character who can never find love and have that be the running theme, but I think when you open the door to a story line about relationships, you open the door to another realm of comedy.
Jordana Spiro
#65. Once I checked my email, I would get lost in a book so I could feel the main character's pain instead of mine, laugh at her missteps rather than lament my own, and cheer for the happy ending that seemed to elude me.
Meredith Schorr
#66. The life of every individual, viewed as a whole and in general, and when only its most significant features are emphasized, is really a tragedy; but gone through in detail it has the character of a comedy.
Arthur Schopenhauer
#67. It was important for me early on to find the voice of each character and figure out what was unique about them and their individual worldview that I could use for comedy or conflict.
Maria Semple
#68. I try not to be influenced when it comes to being creative, just in order to sustain my own voice and character. However, I do have many inspirations from the worlds of literature, music, comedy and film.
Doc Brown
#69. My roles in comedies from 'Austin Powers' to 'Tommy Boy' to 'Wayne's World,' were sort of comedic 'straight man' parts. My character on 'Parks & Recreation' is the comic relief in a comedy. To play a character that appears strictly for laughs is sort of new for me and really fun.
Rob Lowe
#70. The tendency in comedy is to have a character who's stupid get more stupid, because you're trying to top yourself and not just repeat.
Matt Groening
#71. You've got to have a likeability factor, I think, in your comedy characters. If the guy's really, really funny but you just don't like him or her, then you're never going to root for them.
Rhys Darby
#72. It is hard enough to be good at all, but to be good in comedy speaks for your character.
Roger Ebert
#73. I felt audiences are happier to take comedy people who play darker people because there's a link between the psychosis of comedy and the psychosis of being a twisted character.
Eddie Izzard
#74. For a woman to be taken as seriously as a man she must be three times as effective. Happily, this is not difficult.
Simone de Beauvoir
Gale Martin
#75. The rabbi glanced over glumly from behind the jail bars. 'My faith in God is fine,' he said. 'It's people I'm not so sure about.
Richard Fliegel
#76. I find that comedy is my specialty, but drama is slowly starting to move up in that rank. I've always liked playing a character that has depth and that I'm able to bring my own niche to.
Texas Battle
#77. I hadn't done just a straight-out comedy in a long time, just letting an ensemble do really good character acting, having them carry the movie as in my earlier pictures.
Brian De Palma
#78. If you think of the people who are funny in your life, you'll note it's not because they tell jokes, it's because of their character. If you develop characters, then you'll know them, and you'll know how they'll speak. The comedy will come out of the character.
Anne Beatts
#79. I think a shot can actually influence a scene in a huge way. For example, comedy is always better in a two-shot. What's between the characters is what's funny. So you learn about these things as you go along.
Emily Blunt
#80. Although I love all genres, I really love to play in two main arenas: Comedy and Thriller/Horror. In either genre I love playing flawed, layered characters that are actively fighting to achieve something in the story.
Kyle Cassie
#81. Comedy always works better when you're tracking the story and you care about the characters. That's why there's a lot of movies where there's not a ton of jokes, but you get huge laughs because there's a moment of relief.
Andy Samberg
#82. Approaching a comedy character is fun because you get to sit down with the director and ask, "What makes you laugh?" Then you end up bouncing ideas off each other.
Matthew Lewis
#83. If it was a great script and a great character, I would love to do a romantic comedy.
Andy Serkis
#84. Comedy and drama are different sides of the same coin. And the thing about comedy and drama is about likability. It's about character first. It's about story. And for me, it's about empathy, and I think the realer someone is, the further you can go either way with them.
Ricky Gervais
#85. Not long after 'The Pacific,' I began shooting the comedy 'Larry Crowne,' which was also with Tom Hanks, who also directed and plays the title character.
Rami Malek
#86. Comedy is immediate. Comedy is a solo mission. You're all by yourself, up there. And when you're in a film, on a set, it's a collaborative effort. It's about me being a tool for somebody else to create a story and a character from nothing, from their imagination.
Dane Cook
#87. 'Raising Arizona' is maybe my favorite comedy of all time. What's great about it is that as slapstick as it gets, it has great moments of emotion and caring. Them bringing the baby back and Trey Wilson's character. I love that, man.
Joe Carnahan
#88. Most of our occupations are low comedy ... We must play our part duly, but as the part of a borrowed character. Of the mask and appearance we must not make a real essence, nor of what is foreign what is our very own.
Michel De Montaigne
#89. Comedy, drama, Westerns, sci-fi ... it's all fine if the story's compelling and the character is interesting to me. I do like action a lot.
Jensen Ackles
#90. 'District 9', 'Elysium' and 'Chappie' were all born out of some visual concept first. 'Chappie' is the imagery, because I think I'm a visual person first, of this ridiculous robot character. It's much more comedy based and in an unusual setting.
Neill Blomkamp
#91. I like to approach comedy from character, to have the stakes for the individuals in the story be very high.
Seth Gordon
#92. I love insane, stupid comedy, but I can only make it work if it's a character I can give some history to and make real. Like the guy I played in 'Little Miss Sunshine.' He's a maniac, but to me he was absolutely believable.
Alan Arkin
#93. I'm still fighting really hard to get any role I get. If it's comedy, I go for the laughs. And if it's drama, I try to tell the truth, and try to play the real stakes of whatever scenario the character's in.
Chris Pratt
#94. Guys play characters that won't grow up and something catastrophic happens and they have to grow up to save the day - that's pretty much what today's comedy is about.
Chris Rock
#95. It's the same kind of preparation you do for something like this you do for anything. It doesn't matter if it's a drama or a comedy, the need to get the emotion and the character arc across is way harder in something like this so was more of a preparation.
Jessica Biel
#96. I love doing comedy. One of my favorite things in the world is to do 'Parks and Recreation'; a big fun character.
Ben Schwartz
#97. I like a naturalism to my dialogue and my comedy. I would rather have a few jokes sail by that might be more subtle than have every single joke hit hard. I would rather the comedy come out of character as opposed to feeling forced. Even if you're giving some laughs up for it.
Jon Favreau
#98. Then we went skinny dippin' and did things that frighten the fish ...
Character, Shelby Eatonton, from the movie, Steel Magnolias.
Robert Harling
#99. In low comedy, a character gets hit in the head, and you don't really believe it. In farce, he's hit in the head, but he must be hit in the head. The character requires it.
Mark Linn-Baker
#100. I still do live concerts all over the country - about four a month - with singing and characters and improv. It keeps me limber. I'll never lose that. And comedy is still the bread and butter.
Martin Short
