Dano Quotes & Sayings

Sometimes I think your intellect can get in your way as an actor or an artist. When you come from a world of improv and comedy, you're able to let it flicker and fall out. — Paul Dano

Sometimes it's summer camp on location. So it's nice to have a little New York community of people you love. — Paul Dano

Some projects go as you hope or imagine, and some change or reveal themselves in a different way; it depends. — Paul Dano

On 'There Will Be Blood,' I was cast at the last minute. I had 3 and a half to 4 days to get ready for the first day. I just went for it, threw myself in there and gave it everything I had. That was just guts and instinct, not a lot of preparation. — Paul Dano

I really don't want to go to work every day convincing myself of what I'm saying. I want the material to make me a better actor; then I try to return the favor to the material. — Paul Dano

There are maybe 100 actors I look up to, but my first two favourite actors were Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson. — Paul Dano

I like purple too. I looked up color psychology before doing any house painting, because I was curious what the colors I like mean. And purple is very royal and creative. — Paul Dano

A lot of people think I must be weird because of the films I've done. I get that. — Paul Dano

With somebody like Harrison Ford, they're so commanding and confident, and you know, he does have a certain power or charisma, and those are things that are sort of ineffable. — Paul Dano

Of course I think it's a movie for everybody [Insane Farting Corpse], but that's probably just because it's a movie for me. — Paul Dano

It just so happens that when I was, like, 19 or 20, I got a couple of auditions and got a couple parts with good people. Of the thousands of auditions where you don't get the part, I've done a couple of jobs where you do it and you're like, "Okay, this is good." — Paul Dano

The less acting you have to do, the better, I think. — Paul Dano

The whole being-in-a-room interview thing, at a junket or a film festival, is very inhuman. You meet the person, have five or 10 minutes to talk, and it's not like a conversation. — Paul Dano

One thing you notice is, there's a lot of people with raw talent, and then there's people who take that talent and work hard. — Paul Dano

I don't have any tattoos. — Paul Dano

'Looper' was a wonderful script. Rian Johnson is the real deal and a really talented filmmaker. — Paul Dano

When I'm not acting, I like to go home and be really normal. So I usually grow out my hair until I get the next part. — Paul Dano

Theater is hard. — Paul Dano

I always have an adjustment period where I'm so happy to be home, but then my sense of purpose is totally gone. — Paul Dano

The hardest thing about working with your partner is that the work starts to become first. — Paul Dano

I grew up in Manhattan, and now I live in Brooklyn. — Paul Dano

I always ask for more takes. I like doing takes, so I'll do as many as I can. — Paul Dano

I'm not a big shopper. I'm a pretty simple dresser, and that's not my pleasure go-to thing, looking for clothes. — Paul Dano

I don't normally like getting dressed up, but when I go to events, I like to look put together. I've got to say, getting in a nice suit feels good. — Paul Dano

I would not take a girl to a club on a Thursday. I would not take her to a really noisy, swanky restaurant. — Paul Dano

I do think the first time you read a script, that gut response is very important, and that probably plants a seed that continues to blossom throughout the whole experience. — Paul Dano

I know an actor who would play one type of part but could never get cast as tough. Once he got cast as tough, as a cop, he only got offered cop roles. It's a funny business in that regard. It's all about perception. — Paul Dano

I'm very low-maintenance. — Paul Dano

I think it is important to make sure that I have my real life as well, because Hollywood can certainly seem like an alternate reality sometimes. — Paul Dano

You try to get to know your character as best as you can before you start filming - what's written and not written. — Paul Dano

I love filming in New York. I love New York movies, too. I just like it when people can take New York and make it their own, because there are so many different New Yorks. — Paul Dano

There's that thing that if you want to have any kind of lasting love, I think you have to love the whole person and not just the parts of them that you choose. — Paul Dano

For me, playing a really bad character is about figuring out what brought the person to where we need him. — Paul Dano

I'd love to do a really broad comedy at some point. — Paul Dano

I've definitely had mentors, whether parents or friends or actors who I like. — Paul Dano

I feel like having something that you're passionate about helps to keep you young. — Paul Dano

As an actor, the toughest thing is being subject to circumstance. Meaning: What scripts are out there that are available? — Paul Dano

When I'm not excited, it makes acting very hard for me. — Paul Dano

I like characters that make me feel challenged and sort of inspired. — Paul Dano

Listening to hard rock on the subway doesn't work for me, especially modern hard rock. Driving in L.A. helped me to understand the appeal of that music. — Paul Dano

I sort of grew up doing theater. And that's how I got into film, actually. — Paul Dano

I'm not a person who needs to chit-chat between takes by any means. — Paul Dano

I think carrying your gut, or your instincts, through all the learning, is one of the most important things. You learn to prepare for a part in different ways, you learn to experiment, what you do for the character - you try working in different ways. — Paul Dano

It's hard to talk about acting because I don't think it's quite as explicit as a lot of people might think. And that's probably the best thing about it. — Paul Dano

I can obviously relate to a character who is an artist, because the creative process is a big part of my life. — Paul Dano

It's a constant learning process - not just what you need to learn for the character or as far as good actors - but as an actor, there's no limit. Every time now, you're learning so, I think that's a good thing though. — Paul Dano

Films can be entertaining without shying away from exploring something. They can be magical and have fantasy, but also can have enough reality that you can be really emotionally invested. — Paul Dano

Homeless people really upset me when I was little. A lot of kids have this reaction, but I would get really worried or sad or concerned or cry. — Paul Dano

At the heart of drama is conflict. — Paul Dano

I've definitely been in ruts, and I think having some kind of perseverance is important. — Paul Dano

In tragedy, it's hard to find a good resolution; it's not black and white: it's a big fog of gray. — Paul Dano

I went to tranny bars and kind of got used to being around that and then getting dressed up. — Paul Dano

I think the idea is to try and understand everything about the characters and where the character is coming from, from their point of view, why they say what they do. And not, 'Oh, but I would never say that. Why does the character say that?' But then making it as personal as possible. — Paul Dano

As an actor, I always feel you basically have to be able to delude yourself. — Paul Dano

I volunteered at a homeless shelter in preparation for 'Being Flynn,' and when I'm walking along the Bowery, that's the first thing that comes to mind. That's a nice memory. — Paul Dano

I think you sometimes have to go hit rock bottom before you can grow and rebuild as a person. — Paul Dano

Michael Caine is so happy. Happy and healthy. I think he enjoys life. I think he's 82 now, and I have no clue if I'll be working at that age. — Paul Dano

Robert De Niro's sort of like a surfer: he doesn't really force anything. So if he catches the wave, or something spills out - to watch a guy be a force at what he does. He has a good worth ethic. — Paul Dano

I guess sometimes fear is a good thing. It's a really good motivator. — Paul Dano

Have I seen any plays that I've been in? Uh, you know, might be a little weird. — Paul Dano

Everything you do, every experience that you have, enlightens you a little bit or worsens you. — Paul Dano

In life, you have to keep certain parts of yourself in check because you want to be a decent human being. But one of the guilty pleasures of acting is that sometimes you get to let a little something out that you don't in life because it's not right. — Paul Dano

To be running away from explosions with Harrison Ford, you know, that's pretty great. — Paul Dano

I've seen people, where if they have to wait around the set for three hours, and they call you at the wrong time, and they're not ready for you, some people don't like that. — Paul Dano

I like listening to my playlist on the iPod. I don't want radio with commercials. — Paul Dano

I don't know that praise is always a good thing. — Paul Dano

I used to write a lot of songs. I was an English major in college. I was a deluded poet for a year. Totally deluded. — Paul Dano

Certainly, being on stage is a rush. — Paul Dano

I don't like to spend a lot of money on haircuts: I'll sometimes grow my hair and get an acting job and get them to cut it for free. I think for a lady, though, it's okay to spend a lot on a haircut. — Paul Dano

I remember going to the theatre when I was little and the lights going down and just getting really scared about what was going to happen up there. — Paul Dano

I tore my ACL playing basketball. — Paul Dano

I'm a private person, but I don't feel afraid to walk out of my door or anything. I get recognised occasionally, but not overwhelmingly so. — Paul Dano

I'm really excited to share the movie [Swiss Army Man] with people, so I'm glad that people are seeing it. And I want them to, because I think it's a really fun movie to experience sitting next to people. It makes it funnier. It makes it more comfortable. It makes it sweeter. — Paul Dano

I like the idea of finding parts that I know I can do but I don't totally understand them right away. — Paul Dano

It's a lot of fun to be a part of films that you don't exactly know how they're going to turn out. — Paul Dano

One of my favorite things I read was John Steinbeck's journals while he was writing 'East of Eden,' which was so cool. — Paul Dano

I mean, to feel in good hands as an actor ... it's the best feeling. — Paul Dano

I am baffled by good writing. — Paul Dano

There's a lot of people that I would love to work with. There's a lot of different kinds of parts I wanna play. As your career progresses, you hope that you get some more opportunity or some more choice. — Paul Dano

Being actors is a strange job. — Paul Dano

I don't really know what kind of actor I am. — Paul Dano

I like movies a lot, and I feel really excited when I see a movie that moves me the right way. — Paul Dano

Being actors is a strange job. To try to go live that out, it's a very strange thing to want to do when you step back and think about it. — Paul Dano

I don't like tight pants on guys. — Paul Dano

People have asked me about playing outsiders. I don't consider myself an outsider. Maybe that's why I'm interested in that. I'm not really sure. — Paul Dano

New York is kind of a mythological city in may ways. — Paul Dano

When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a Broadway stage at 11 years old? It's so far in the distance now. — Paul Dano

I think it's more important to try and make a good film than give a good performance. — Paul Dano

George C. Scott, man, was a powerful dude. — Paul Dano

I love Brooklyn; it's a part of who you are. — Paul Dano

In 'There Will Be Blood,' my character was someone who was an actor himself almost. He had a rehearsed quality about him. He was a performance artist in a way. — Paul Dano

My favorite color is blue, and my secret favorite color is pink. — Paul Dano

As people, no matter what we are doing, your whole body is living and breathing. — Paul Dano

I think control is a two-way street; sometimes people want to control things to keep them safe if they are afraid of life. — Paul Dano

I know I'd like to direct a film at some point, and maybe I'll write it. — Paul Dano

The way Hollywood works, you're never sure if their first thought is to make a great film and honor the material or just another business property. — Paul Dano

I'm a sucker for period pieces. There is always great opportunity for research and to delude yourself into feeling like you are in a different time and place. — Paul Dano

I think that the Western went away for a while because part of its function was that it used to be America's action film. — Paul Dano

The better the acting is, the harder it is to see what the process is. — Paul Dano

My first thought about acting, growing up here in New York, was theater, and I feel like I need to force myself to go get my ass kicked in a rehearsal room and do one of those plays at some point. — Paul Dano