Cusack Quotes & Sayings

It never hurts to be involved in any political or activist organization. I can never see how participation would be a bad thing. The key is being true to what you participate with and who. — John Cusack

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. — John Cusack

Did you know that the word person comes from the Latin word persona, which means mask? So maybe being human means we invite spectators to ponder what lies behind. Each of us will be composed of a variety of masks, and if we can see behind the mask, we would get a burst of clarity. And if that flame was bright enough, that's when we fall in love. — John Cusack

I take parenting incredibly seriously. I want to be there for my kids and help them navigate the world, and develop skills, emotional intelligence, to enjoy life, and I'm lucky to be able to do that and have two healthy, normal boys. — Joan Cusack

We need comedies in the world! We need to laugh, it's all so hard. — Joan Cusack

Every week it's another opportunity to really make that work and figure out how to make it work better. And I love that it's like theater, too, and the audience, and it's so short. It's only 20 minutes. It's like a haiku or something. — Joan Cusack

I was working with a great actress - a superior artist in every way - and she really liked Celine Dion. I tried very hard, but I couldn't understand it. I just can't listen to Celine Dion! So I guess music is a deal breaker. — John Cusack

Maybe I'm more drawn to those kind of parts because they are meaningful to me. I mean, more parent-y ones, I find them interesting to do. — Joan Cusack

Well, acting itself is a form of rebellion, always. Getting up there in front of people, telling stories - you're kind of going against the grain to begin with, wanting to do that, don't you think? Why else would you do it? Except maybe as kind of a way to affirm your very existence. — John Cusack

Hitler was so modern, in that he was obsessed with being famous. He was caught up with this rush to be have achieved greatness before turning 30. — John Cusack

I think it's fun to have work that you can relate to, that you can feel like is meaningful. — Joan Cusack

Because I don't think it's very healthy to hold people to idealized views. I think that's a certain stage in life, something kids do. You have to go through that idealistic phase with your parents, but at a certain point, you need to see people as just people. — Joan Cusack

I grew up in Evanston and lived in Chicago for a long time, in Old Town and Wrigleyville. I did three films when I was in high school. The first was 'Class,' with Rob Lowe. I had a supporting role in that. — John Cusack

I am a nationalist ... my native soil is the theatre. — Cyril Cusack

The movies have got more corporate, they're making fewer movies in general, and those they are making are all $200-$300m tent-pole releases that eat up all the oxygen. — John Cusack

I just love the process of working with other actors. It's like jamming with a musician, except it takes a little more effort to get to that place as an actor, because you have the cameras and lights and everything. But I love jamming with these people. — John Cusack

Every role you do is kind of a side of yourself. That's why they give you the part. — John Cusack

I remember the '80s being about the Cold War and Reagan and the homeless problem and AIDS. To me, it was kind of a dark, depressing time. — John Cusack

I love actors who are wonderful - like John Cusack and Russell Crowe, and wouldn't it be a treat to eventually direct them one day. — Renee O'Connor

Poe had this curious kind of alchemical courage, where he took all the terrible things and terrors that happened in his life, all this shame and fear and pain, and turned them into great works of art. He was a complex, brilliant person who was just wired too tight. — John Cusack

I mean that I think I find the psychology of people more interesting than politics. I think the psychology of politics is more interesting than straight politics. — Joan Cusack

If you're going to get into social criticism with absurdity and satire, you can't be politically correct when you do that. — John Cusack

I don't want to produce anymore small or independent movies because it's just too hard these days. — John Cusack

I think that taking night trains or meeting someone on the road is pretty romantic. I've done a couple of things like that. I've surprised someone in Paris. And hopefully, when you surprise someone, they're happy to see you. — John Cusack

I think us gals need to stay in and just change the way it works, so men aren't being workaholics and avoiding life and relationships, and they can make films in a reasonable amount of time, so you can have a family and a life outside of work. And have more balanced, content-driven, enjoyable movies. — Joan Cusack

I try not to dwell on the past. I'm not a big go-back-and-try-to-relive-your-past kinda person. — John Cusack

Maybe the absence of signs is a sign. — John Cusack

My mum is very political - left wing - and my dad was in the advertising business. They were both from the East Coast: Boston and New York City, respectively. — Joan Cusack

Joan Cusack is one of my favorite comedic actresses, and every part she plays is so different. She does the wackiest stuff and somehow it works. I like watching her a lot, and I think you can always go further and pull back. That's something I really have to work on. — Rachel McAdams

My dad was a very funny man - he's the one who taught me life would be awfully hard without humor! I'm sure his Irish wit in some way influenced my decision to become an actress. — Joan Cusack

Usually I play people who just keep babbling on and on and on. — John Cusack

I don't tend to think in terms of a moral authority - be a good boy, do good things - more in terms of what feels right. — John Cusack

I love the theatre and theatre people. — Cyril Cusack

It's like those high-school yearbook photos that everyone would rather not see: Oh my God, look at that mullet hair. I have those photos too, but for me, they're, like, entire movies. And they show them on cable. — John Cusack

Roy, the guy I play in 'The Grifters,' is a guy who had a very bleak life. His mother had him at 13, and then when she was 17 or 18 and he was 4 or 5, they were trapped in a small Texas town somewhere, and she was ready to do anything to get out. — John Cusack

With acting, you wanna see if you can get into trouble without knowing how you're gonna get out of it. It's like the exact opposite of war, where you need an exit strategy. When you're acting, you should get all the way into trouble with no exit strategy, and have the cameras rolling. — John Cusack

No, actors go out with actresses as a form of self-flagellation. — John Cusack

I was never interested in being an overly public person. — John Cusack

I feel like I'm a filmmaker; I don't feel I need to yell action and cut. — John Cusack

I remember once acting really cool on a bus with this girl named Stephanie. When I got home, I realized that I had a really big zit on my forehead. If you have acne problems, you really shouldn't be acting like Don Juan. I should have been contrite - and apologized for exposing her to the angry pimple. — John Cusack

I think good actors can sort of see into people and immediately you have a chemistry with them or not. It's like an affair with no mess. You don't actually consummate it, but you get to pretend, imagine what it would be like. — John Cusack

There is new research showing that our creative potential increases with age. Our creativity is a product of our inner and outer experience, and as we get older, we have all kinds of experience to draw on. Also, research tells us that creativity brings energy, vitality and good health. — Sandra A. Cusack

I think it's very improtant and healthy to tell differnt stories than the corporatist narratives we are being asked to swallow hook, line and sinker. — John Cusack

Well, any time you do anything good, it's man versus himself, right? That's the art, the challenge. — John Cusack

Poets are political, they have to be reflections of their times [because] they're living in their times. Poetry is political in that it's standing in opposition to fascism. Good poetry asks a bunch of questions and asks the audience to interact with themselves or see themselves in it; maybe you like it or you don't like it. But the fascist sort of stuff plays on your fears and tells you to jump on the party line and gives some simple excuses - blame this person. — John Cusack

If there had been a little less home dissension, there would have been a great deal less foreign oppression. — Mary Frances Cusack

Hopefully as you get older you get more selfless. That would be probably a good goal. I don't know if we do, though. — John Cusack

I once loved a girl who almost loved me, but not as much as she loved John Cusack. — Chuck Klosterman

This film [Chi-Raq]is a declaration. It's a scream. It's a warning. And I can really break it down to one scene. That's the scene where we have the eulogy and sermon that is given by the great John Cusack. — Spike Lee

I think there's nothing better than laughing in life, so that's nice, to be thought of as someone who can make someone laugh. It's 'cause I think life is hard. You know, my dad was a really silly man. A great Irish silly man. And that's fine. — Joan Cusack

Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because listen to pop music? — John Cusack

If you wanna give me an award, I'll take it. Just don't make me go to the party afterwards. — John Cusack

Once you have opened up prisoner interrogation, wiretapping, border patrol, jailing and the services of the military, when this has been turned into a for-profit business in this endless war, then we're in deep trouble. — John Cusack

If you asked me for my New Year Resolution, it would be to find out who I am. — Cyril Cusack

But whenever I meet dynamic, nonretarded Americans, I notice that they all seem to share a single unifying characteristic: the inability to experience the kind of mind-blowing, transcendent romantic relationship they perceive to be a normal part of living. And someone needs to take the fall for this. So instead of blaming no one for this (which is kind of cowardly) or blaming everyone (which is kind of meaningless), I'm going to blame John Cusack. — Chuck Klosterman

As a parent, you have to figure out how to shape your kid's character. You want to have human beings who learn about good character. You have to be able to see your child with clarity, see the good side and the bad side of them, and work on the bad side and make them better so they fulfill their potential. — Joan Cusack

In L.A., it's easy to get caught up in what you look like or how much money you have, and those aren't values I want my kids to adopt. — Joan Cusack

Don't live vicariously through your kids or try to shape them into who you wanted to be, like the popular kid or an athlete. Children should be given the opportunity to be themselves. — Joan Cusack

Most movies, once the action starts there's no more characters. You say a couple of dumb lines and then there's just explosions until the end. — John Cusack

I think America has a bad rap right now ... and hopefully Obama will change that. — Joan Cusack

In the future, there is no future. — John Cusack

You're curious about someone, or why they're doing what they're doing. Because everyone who gets to work in this field is so lucky, and it's such a rarified world, I understand that. At the end of the day, I'm interested in demystifying it. — Joan Cusack

Art is spiritual. — John Cusack

I was never the 'babe,' so I knew I'd never get those big roles. I'd always be the best friend or the quirky sidekick. — Joan Cusack

You just try to get the best jobs that you can get. Sometimes I produce my own movies, so that's your own sort of vision. That helps things. I don't know what it is. Probably just circumstance. I've definitely been aware of the fact that I want to do different things. — John Cusack

I kept saying that I'd never live in L.A., and I didn't think I would. But that's where the work is, and I ended up making a lot of friends there, and my old friends moved out to Los Angeles too. And also, I think when you're famous, its hard to live in a small town. — John Cusack

My first job now is as a mother, everything else is secondary. My kids understand that I am an actress, and they are always so surprised to hear my voice on a cartoon character, or see my face on a video box. If it ever gets to be too much though, the career and the kids, I will simply set the career aside. — Joan Cusack

When I found out Cusack was involved, I liked that a lot. — Ray Liotta

The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history. — John Cusack

It's important to being a healthy person. So while you're here on the earth, you might as well enjoy it. And it's hard to enjoy things when you're crazy. — Joan Cusack

The actor has a constant problem of personal identity. — Cyril Cusack

But no, I don't really like romantic comedies, so I don't really care. I never go see 'em. — John Cusack

Acting is the most brotherly and sisterly profession in the world. — Cyril Cusack

I was never a joiner. I tried - I had people I admired and liked and wanted to hang with, but I ended up starting a theatre company and that took me back to Chicago ... I guess I wasn't a scenester in the end. Something must have worked out right, as I'm still here - but I'm only a binge socialite. — John Cusack

I was a teen star. That's disgusting enough. — John Cusack

I don't agonize over decisions as much these days. The criteria of what's important to me is clear. — John Cusack

A lot of powerful people in Washington may think it's a crazy-leftist-fringe position to think the intellectual authors of a torture regime should be investigated and prosecuted. — John Cusack

I feel close to Lloyd in 'Say Anything'. He was like a super-interesting version of me. Only I'm not as good as him. Whatever part of me is romantic and optimistic, I reached into that to play Lloyd. — John Cusack

It's supposed to feel good to throw a brick at the right people. There is a long tradition of naming and ridiculing and shaming and calling the villains what they are. Usually it was the artistocracy of the day and satire was the only way to speak truth to power. — John Cusack

Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life. — Bert V. Royal

Hollywood is just a bunch of people going around in Learjets to other people asking them if they've got any money? Well, they might have if they didn't spend it all on jets. — John Cusack

I mean, the country was founded on free enterprise. There's good things about it, and there's obviously bad things about it. — Joan Cusack

It was a terrible blow that was dealt when I was fired from 'Saturday Night Live', but I have to say that a few doors opened right away. Movie roles started to roll in, and pretty soon, I was over it. — Joan Cusack

I'm not making any plans. I'm just going to let the universe surprise me. — John Cusack

The British keep employing me, and that makes me like them. It also makes me think they're very intelligent. — John Cusack

People try to keep their past, like kind of holding on to their past. Every Springsteen song talks about that. — John Cusack

There are some good people. But a good chunk of them will lie for no reason at all - it'll be ten o'clock and they'll tell you it's nine. You're looking at the clock and you can't even fathom why they're lying. They just lie because that's what they do. — John Cusack

John Cusack is standing over there."
I followed his incredulous gaze to where a man very like Mr. Cusack did indeed stand, smoking a cigarette as he leaned against a building. I sighed.
"That's not John Cusack. That's Jerome."
"Seriously?"
"Yup. I told you he looked like John Cusack."
"Keyword: looked. That guy doesn't look like him. That guy is him. — Richelle Mead

I have tried to explore the little talent I have for writing. — Cyril Cusack

I have a bit of a rebellious nature. — John Cusack

If I'm in something that I think is kinda good, it stays with me like a fever dream for a long time afterwards. I don't recall the finished product so much as the feeling of making it. — John Cusack

I'd love to work with Joan Cusack again - I'm obsessed with Joan Cusack. — Amanda Peet

I think just because life is hard, it does seem fun to have a break and laugh about things, so I think in the end, my instincts go there. — Joan Cusack

When applied to politics and taken to its extreme, kitsch is the mask of death. Fascism was all aesthetics. There was no core principle to it. There was no truth to it. — John Cusack

Theatre has no national identity. It is something for the world, whether it is Irish, English, or French. — Cyril Cusack

You know, I think I'm more of a micro-person, so to me, the context and the framework of trying to do what you love and feel passionate about, in supporting your family in that way, is the most important thing to me. — Joan Cusack

I want my kids to experience passion. I want them to see that I have things I feel passionate about because it is such a great feeling to really love something. — Joan Cusack

I think when you get to the point where you don't need to be in love, then you could be in love. You have to just be OK with yourself-and that's a long process. — John Cusack

I always liked it when people go back in time to discover things about themselves, like with 'A Christmas Carol' and you're getting a tour of your life by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. — John Cusack

I like the George Romero films, which were really great, social satire movies; really twisted. — John Cusack