William Sadler Quotes & Sayings

It used to annoy and frustrate me to have to come in and audition. I would say to my agents, 'Haven't they seen this film and this film and this film? They know what I look like ... They must.' Until I directed an episode of 'Roswell.' And all of a sudden, I realized why that was such an important thing. — William Sadler

Well, I'm a history buff, anyway. I love learning about different periods, especially in American history. I'm a fan. — William Sadler

When you're in Los Angeles, everybody you meet is writing a movie, and they want you to be in it. Every cab driver is writing a movie! — William Sadler

I love doing comedy, and I don't get a chance to much. I get to play lots of serious people, and killers, and people with a lot of ... sheriffs. Good people and bad people, but lots of drama, and to get a chance to be genuinely silly is a great treat for me. — William Sadler

I think good acting is always character acting. — William Sadler

As a director, it became important to hear that specific role read by that specific actor, and you hear the chemistry, or you don't hear the chemistry. So I'm not so bothered by the audition process anymore; in fact, I use it. It's a time for the actor to actually get to the know the director and the producers a little bit, too. — William Sadler

I don't get a chance to be funny on camera as often as I would like. — William Sadler

People quote lines to me all the time. I'm always surprised - everybody has a favorite movie, and they're always different. I'm always shocked. People stop me on the street and throw lines at me from 'Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight' and 'Deep Space Nine.' 'Shawshank' happens a lot because they play it so much on TV. — William Sadler

I enjoyed 'Roswell' a lot, and I had a lot of fun playing Jim Valenti. I had never done a show that lasted as long as that - that one lasted three years. — William Sadler

I guess I would model myself after the Bill Condons, the Frank Darabonts and the David Nutters if I were to direct a feature, which I would love to do, by the way. — William Sadler

If I have a better idea, I say, 'Can we try one like this?' I try not to step on writers' toes, but ninety-nine percent of the time, it ends up in the movie, and sometimes it's the line that everyone remembers and quotes from the movie. — William Sadler

You often hear this about directors, how it's like having the best set of toys. This fabulous train set, the biggest box of toys that a kid could possibly have. The best directors look like a kid having more fun than you're supposed to have. — William Sadler

In theater, there's a lot of discipline involved in doing eight shows a week for a year and a half. It's nice to be able to bring some of that bag of tools with you over to the film world, where you don't have the rehearsal, you don't have an audience. You don't have a month of rehearsal to examine these words, and you meet the guy who's going to play your brother the morning that you shoot the scene. So you need a bag of tools. — William Sadler

Maybe I don't take myself quite as seriously as I used to, but the work has gotten better and more interesting, and I'm just having more fun. It's getting more and more fun with each role. — William Sadler

I think I spent my whole childhood diving out of haylofts with my BB gun and coming out shooting. — William Sadler