I did nothing but theater until, I guess, '99. I was all the way through college the first time that I had stepped in front of a camera. And it's weird; it's definitely a transition.

James Roday

Categorized in : Weird Camera Way Time

I came from Texas, I was studying theater at NYU, and I thought for sure that my lot in life would be to get the best bartending job I could find and do theater in New York. And that was a good life.

best job good life

Leonardo Dicaprio didn't change his name, Emilio Estevez didn't change his name. But every case is different. I only have one reference of what my career was and I was very, very blessed and very, very lucky, and it got started very quickly after college. And I only know that by going with Roday.

name change college blessed

I would say I've actually done a lot more comedy than I've done drama. It's weird the way that worked out, because when I came out of theater school I took myself way too seriously, so it's kind of ironic that I ended up sort of going down the comedy path.

myself path way school

And I have to say, for the record, my favorite line from 'Without A Clue' is after Michael Caine pokes a dead body with a stick and announces to everyone, 'It is my opinion that this man is dead.'

dead man opinion body

I think what we do is fairly unique on 'Psych,' and we just have to keep doing that because that's what got us where we are.

us doing think unique

Look at every show on television; it's derivative of another show that came before it. It was only a matter of time. So all you 'Mentalist' fans, it's okay to like the show, but don't be in denial of where it came from. Friday nights, U.S.A., basic cable-style baby.

look you time baby

Have I ever pretended to be something? I think back in college I think I might have told a girl that I was a professional tennis player once. And then, of course, she had never heard of me so I had to dig deeper. 'I'm just sort of on the playing satellites. You know, I'm kind of working my way up. I'm not ranked in the top 100 or anything.'

think me you girl

I get star-struck anytime I meet performers that I grew up watching and appreciating. I mean, it's still incredibly surreal to me that I was a kid in San Antonio watching movies and then now I'm working with some of the people that were in those movies. I don't think it'll ever stop being surreal on some level.

movies think me people

Without banging a drum or getting on a soap box, there are always ebbs and tides in this country in terms of the political and social climate that we might be dealing with at any given moment.

moment always political country

Anytime you're lucky enough to be on something that lasts longer than half a season, you never quite know what kind of life the show is gonna take on.

never know you life

As 'Psych' went on, deeper in the run, I started to feel more of a challenge just because, how many jokes are there? How many times can you reinvent the wheel?

challenge feel you jokes

Gallows humor is part of our coping mechanism. It's part of our grief process. If we don't know what else to do, we laugh. That's a very real thing.

laugh know grief humor