I love the beginning of Magnolia, the thing about the dealer. That scene is genius. Brilliantly acted. Patton Oswalt More Quotes by Patton Oswalt More Quotes From Patton Oswalt Just think of yourself as starting from zero every time. That's what I do with every new role. I'm at zero, and I'm going to do the work. Patton Oswalt think-of-you thinking Every audience is different, even within the same venue. You have to just make every audience your audience; you can't pre-judge an audience based on the size of the room or the type of room. Patton Oswalt different judging rooms Based on my own experience, when you're going through adolescence you don't know how the world works. You can't set a story in the world you live in because you don't know what a utility bill is, or how to budget your paycheck. Patton Oswalt bills stories world If you play comedic scenes like they're really serious, then it's so much more funny than if you're going for a laugh. Patton Oswalt serious play laughing I never said that movies were struggling behind TV. I'm just saying that movies have a better creative cache. Patton Oswalt cache creative struggle Knock on wood, my groupies tend to be very artistic, creative people - sometimes way more creative than I am. Patton Oswalt woods creative people There's nothing wrong with doing comedies, and I'm not against comedies, either, but I always want to do stuff that keeps me off my guard and gets me out of my comfort zone. Patton Oswalt comfort want stuff Growing up there are always those kids who are only happy when they are making someone else upset. That is unfortunately just how some people are. And their parents were fine. Some people are just born with bad wiring. Patton Oswalt growing-up kids people I had a romance novel inside me, but I paid three sailors to beat it out if me with steel pipes. Patton Oswalt romance three steel But for the most part, for the majority of a stand-up audience, you better have new stuff they've not heard. And if you put an album out, just consider that material gone. At least that's how I see it. Patton Oswalt majority albums gone I'm going to continue to try to strike a balance, because I really, really do love doing stand-up, and I don't see why it should affect the acting. And again, I'm not going, "I've got to become a dramatic actor now." I just want more interesting jobs. I just want to keep doing stuff that's different. Patton Oswalt balance jobs interesting I like confounding expectations. I can expand what it is I am able to do, and hopefully get to do more weird, interesting projects like this. There's nothing wrong with doing comedies, and I'm not against comedies, either, but I always want to do stuff that keeps me off my guard and gets me out of my comfort zone. And how the audience perceives that... It's out of my hands. And I don't get that frustrated by it, because I'm on to the next thing at that point. Patton Oswalt expectations hands interesting There's something kind of beautiful about that pure love of things. Like, "I'll show that I love the thing I love by hating everything else." Patton Oswalt things-i-love hate beautiful All the truly great stand-ups say, "I go onstage, and I work on jokes. The inspiration will happen while I'm doing my work." To me, in the end, the surest thing is work. Patton Oswalt inspiration ends happens Even if it's other people, like on MySpace pages, we're just as collective of enthusiasts now. That seems to be the world we're in. Patton Oswalt pages people world I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, 'Well, I've had it with humanity.' But I was wrong. Patton Oswalt reactions humanity remember In my mind, I was always a comedian who was going to branch into writing. Patton Oswalt comedian mind writing Wars are usually really popular with people that aren't gonna be affected by them. 'Cause it's just entertainment, and it's just weird, like, "Well, we've got to show the world that we're strong." No we don't. And by the way, that has nothing to do with you. Why are you equating yourself with thatArray; you know what I mean? Patton Oswalt strong war mean One of my groupies gave me a film that they made, and it ended up being amazing, so I got it shown at South by Southwest. If I can help get their stuff out there, then great. Patton Oswalt film stuff helping This sounds like a brag, but I know how to make good fried rice. I learned in college. There are two secrets - take the rice after you cook it and let it get cold in the fridge. Then cook the egg like you're making a fried egg and just before it's done, dump the rice and veg on it and swirl it around. Patton Oswalt eggs college two