I'm so envious of that genetic wiring that immediately puts a smile on your face. My genetic wiring just puts creases in my eyebrows.
I'm not saying that the action/science-fiction genre is bad in itself. I make those films. I'm just saying that the studios have put all their cards on black.
Film is just a different version of what we did round the campfire when we were Neanderthals. We tell stories so people can learn things and relativise things.
I have a romantic vision of the beautiful delineation between TV and film that existed for so many years. I romanticize the studio system and movie stars as a whole, but obviously that's just anachronistic and probably a non-reality.
I cry all the time - at work, at the shrink's, with my lady. 'The Notebook' killed me. 'Up' destroyed me.
My grandmother was an actress too. In the thirties and forties she was under contract with Universal Studios. Crazy credits, lots of them. My dad was also under contract with Universal Studios. And my first film was shot on the same stage they both worked on at Universal.
If I would have planned it, I would have had what Gosling has, that kind of art-house career.
I grew up in a house where my father went on auditions, and he got some and he lost some, and there were good years and lean years. I didn't expect anything from the business, and that's often a danger in Hollywood, the notion that if you're pretty and have white teeth and just show up for the game then you'll win.
You either listen to the naysayers and fall into the pit of self-loathing, or you stay on the path and move forward.
For me growing up, Christmas time was always the most fantastic, exciting time of year, and you'd stay up until three in the morning. You'd hear the parents wrapping in the other room but you knew that also, maybe, they were in collusion with Santa Claus.
'Star Trek' scared me a lot more than 'White Jazz.' It terrified me, really. Because of the scale, the responsibility, the fact that it was this iconic character. It was the bigger challenge, so I had to take it.
I had a job at this French restaurant, and I hated it. I don't like serving; I don't like getting people ketchup.
You can be many miles away and press a button on a keyboard, and it can cause devastation.
It's so rare to get all of your muscles firing at once. That's what I look for in any role.
I still assume that, any day, I'm going to be exposed as a fraud. That, like I once heard Gene Hackman say, the acting police are going to burst in and take away my card.
Life flies by, and it's easy to get lost in the blur. In adolescence, it's 'How do I fit in?' In your 20s, it's 'What do I want to do?' In your 30s, 'Is this what I'm meant to do?' I think the trick is living the questions. Not worrying so much about what's ahead but rather sitting in the grey area - being OK with where you are.
Uh, I do not wear a wig in 'Star Trek' like I did in 'Bottle Shock,' thank God. 'Bottle Shock' will be the last wig movie I ever do.
I have such awful skin; it doesn't matter what magic serum they think they're putting on - I'll usually break out.
Therapy's like going to the gym.
I broke my finger in a stunt in a very not-too-romantic way. I was just trying to tackle someone, and I just flicked his forearm and then screamed in pain.
I was sick of being articulate and loud and charming. I didn't want to play that guy anymore. I wanted to play the absolute opposite of that.
I think the western is about people in harsh places trying to tame an unfriendly wilderness. Because life is defined by struggle, it's kind of the perfect microcosmic experience to explore that. 'Here we are, struggling.' It's about people persevering and persevering and persevering.
I do like dating cynics - they tend to be incredibly funny.
Mediocrity scares me. It's the fear of not being as good as you want to be. If you give over to that fear, it will sabotage you. As much as I can, I try to use that fear to guide me.
Everybody's got family, or they don't have family, but they come from somewhere.
As an actor, it easy to be so self-critical, saying to yourself, 'Am I good enough? Am I good looking enough? Am I smart enough?'
L.A.'s a pretty, warm, easy, breezy place. You can sunbathe, get a Mai Tai, and wake up five months later. And it's still sunny. And they're still serving Mai Tais.
When I was a younger actor, I was pretty much solely motivated by validation. I just wanted to be told I was good and handsome and a part of the gang. It was pretty simple animal-social stuff. I don't care as much about those things anymore.
I clearly haven't made a good enough impression on people. My go-to line when it's the resume game is that I'm either Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds.
The things that motivated me at 21 don't suffice. Which is scary but really liberating in a way. It's taken me a long time to feel like, instead of being invited to the party with a bunch of people I don't know, that I actually deserve to be here.
The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don't have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.
I think the most dangerous word in the English language is 'should.' 'I should have done this.' Or 'I should do that.' 'Should' implies responsibility. It connotes demand. Which is just not the case. Life ebbs and flows.
