Bob Odenkirk Quotes

My daughter got me a 'World's Best Dad' mug. So we know she's sarcastic.

I honestly would tell anyone young to start looking at stories and learning story, because I think that’s the next step after people go, ‘OK, I’ve had enough of that improvisation, I’ve had enough of those short comedy bits. Tell me a story, tell me a more complex story, something that lasts and maybe has a little more meaning to it.’ Don’t ever look at what’s happening now; look at what’s coming next.

If you're committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it.

We're all real people with moments of intense honesty and pathos and humanity. We all experience that, whether you're comedic or not.

You say you're going to be the pope, become the pope.

Don't say you're going to stop eating red meat when you like red meat.

If you surround me with darkness, suddenly, I am "somewhat fun."

Everybody needs some good sketch comedy.

We don't feel constrained by what we did in the past.

My godfather was a Chicago policeman, and I've always looked at law enforcement as a challenging and interesting job.

I think that cable TV is a great venue to do something interesting.

I felt my personal life was not what it should be. It had nothing to do with Mr. Show - I'm monstrously appreciative and understand what it did for me and to me - but after four years, I just felt like I needed to do something else. I guess I wanted to be in a different place, physically.

When you're 20 you can put a ton of old-age prosthetics on and be an old guy, but when you're 70 you can't play a 20-year-old.

In the end, the thing that really stays with you is not that you were clever enough to connect a sketch to another sketch, but what really sticks with you is when you just have an incredible moment happen, or execute a really funny idea.

The laugh is what trumps everything.

The world needs less destruction.

You shouldn't eat red meat, but you shouldn't make resolutions you can't keep.

I actually think there's a potential, a crazy potential, that network TV could become something valuable and worthwhile, just because of fear on the part of the networks.

Being comedic is a skill, because there is a fine line where the context is important. And being dramatic is just being honest and real in that moment.

Comedy can be destructive, and still very, very funny. But if I can do something that is fun to watch and critical of the world but not wantonly destructive, I pursue those kinds of ideas more. The world needs less destruction. And destruction is kind of “easy,” too.

You get to use everything you learned in movie business. You talk to actors, if you do it right - and I haven't always done it right - you should be shaping the material all the time. And the other thing is, you get all the blame when you direct and it doesn't work. You get slammed. So that's another reason to know what you're making, why you're making it, and make it the way you want.

Drama is more focused and it reveals itself to you, whereas comedy is just right there, when you first read it.

I pretty much live about 10 minutes from my office. I have two kids, and I have about 8 projects that I'm working on, so I basically just get up and go to work, and go home every night and play with my kids, so I don't really know.

It's nice that the independent scene is taken seriously, and has been.

I've always tried to have a rule that you shouldn't make fun of innocent people who can't defend themselves. I find that a little unseemly and distasteful. But nothing's really sacred to me.

The worst thing is to read bad reviews and go, "Yeah, I agree."

When you envy actors, only envy them for their good roles. Keep in mind they have to do a lot of roles to make a living, and not all of them are good. When they're doing a stupid role in a bad production, it's kind of a dumb thing to do when you're an adult. When you're doing a great role that's well-written, it's an enviable job.

You can't guarantee that you'll make a great movie, but you can make a greater effort than I made at trying to see that the basics are there.

I pretty much read reviews and comments only looking for the negative. Literally, when I read positive comments, it's like a zero. I think the issue is if you agree with it or not.

It's dangerous to get calm. You need some nerves to work from, it's good energy. It's not good to have no nerves. You'd fall asleep on stage.

Not to knock the people who've given me the opportunity; I appreciate all the opportunities I've gotten, but one of the things I think I really learned from the features I got to direct is that your job as a director is everything about the movie. It's to pick a story that's really worth making, and make sure that the basic components are there. You're not just a part of the team. You're really in charge, and the responsibility falls on you if all the components aren't there for a worthwhile film.

I think everybody has a public persona. We all present ourselves.

With acting, if a friend asked me to be in a movie or TV show, there's a lot of things on my résumé I did without reading them or knowing what they were. I just said I'd do that because a friend wrote it, directed, produced, acted in it. With directing, I'm sticking to my guns, not that a lot of people are begging me to direct.

Directing is probably the best job, but acting is really, really great. It's like a fun vacation that you get paid for.

I don't think the sketch on its own is a great sketch.

I love any scene where there's a physical confrontation. It reminds me that I'm in show business and I play pretend for a living.

My goal, whenever entering a project, is always to gain 12 pounds.

I'm about to go to Sundance for my 3rd year, and Sundance has never felt like a real independent festival at all. On the other hand, it might to start feel that way.

I think independent movies are actually very challenging right now, because it was this huge scene and it was great for a few years. Then, it was totally co-opted by the studios. Now, it's become very corporate, the independent scene.

The alternative scene, for a couple years now, has been taken seriously and that's a cool thing. I don't think it's exploded or anything, but I think it's pretty cool that it still exists, it's still affecting people.

Comedy is tragedy plus timing.

Even if people end up doing awful things, you can empathize with their motives when you know them. When you get to know the person, you can understand why they make those choices, even if they're bad. And oftentimes people do have good drives that are sympathetic and can even be seen as selfless and good-hearted.

It's fun to discover things. I wouldn't want everything laid out, simply and too obviously.

In acting, you're only responsible for your part. When you're directing, the load is on your shoulders, so you have to feel a strong connection to the material. It's a higher bar to get over.

I think that acting is no fun unless it's hard. I'm not titillated by acting or being an actor unless I have to work hard.

Acting in particular is a fun job when you have a good script. I don't know about acting when you don't have a great script. I'm gonna say that's not a great job, it's kind of a dumb job. But when you have a good part in a good script, it's the best job, in a way.

I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right, you just, in an organic way, translate your ideas into those templates. That's the way I perceive the process happening.