I used to love those movies, back in the day, like 'A Nightmare on Elm Street,' 'Friday the 13th,' 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'The Shining.' I really liked those kind of movies, and I wanted to be a part of one of those kinds of movies. Michael Pena More Quotes by Michael Pena More Quotes From Michael Pena I lived in Chicago, in a shady part of town, and the cops would always stop me since I'm Mexican and I look like the other dudes. Style played a part in it. You're not really going to dress in a suit in a tie. Michael Pena mexican style ties What happened happened. What's gonna happen, is gonna happen. Michael Pena happened destiny happens There is always pressure in any movie set. If you think about it, there is something that you memorize and it is almost like public speaking every day, all day. There is a crew of people, there are monitors and if you mess up, you have to do it until you get it right and then sometimes, you would go blank. Michael Pena pressure people thinking In the beginning, I was always playing some kind of gangbanger and the token Mexican dude who didn't have a lot of lines but was in the entire movie. At the same time, everyone gets typecast, and I decided that if I was going to play a stereotypical role, I was going to play it like a three-dimensional character. Michael Pena mexican play character It's so interesting to watch Ben Stiller work because he just knows what's funny. Michael Pena knows watches interesting Eddie Murphy is just so off-the-cuff and can make anything funny. You hope that someday you'll acquire that skill, but maybe you're born with that. Michael Pena cuffs someday skills You can have a kid and just be off at work all the time, and it's all mom. But, I spent a lot of time with him, so now, every time I see him, he's like, "Dada!" Michael Pena mom kids I took a year and a half off, when my kid was born, because I didn't want to be one of those dads where the kid doesn't know who his dad is. Michael Pena dad kids years I'm clearly not a writer, but I'm always a fan of them. Michael Pena fans I have really good managers and agents who are very selective in what they send me. Michael Pena managers agents good-man I think that when you’re doing a comedy and it makes you laugh, there’s a certain… like you can reject it, and it’s okay. It’s not promoting it or making it seem cool. I think that’s when you get into hot water. Michael Pena water laughing thinking I love documentaries and I watch documentaries to no end. Michael Pena documentaries ends watches A good comic explores the imagination, but it's always got to have those notes of truth running through it. Michael Pena comic imagination running I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked. Michael Pena grew-up reading sports I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do. Michael Pena guy girl way I want to do more sci-fi films. I want to play half-alien, half-illegal alien. Michael Pena half want play The joy of 'Crash' was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. 'Crash' was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette of my own. It really meant something. Michael Pena real joy beautiful My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I'd be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they'd make it before I did. I'd still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show. Michael Pena tv-shows advice years I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious. Michael Pena balance add drama I guess people recognize me, but I'm not a household name. Two out of every five people who come up to me know my name. The one thing I don't want is to be followed by paparazzi. Michael Pena names two people
