Michael Pena
A good comic explores the imagination, but it's always got to have those notes of truth running through it.Collection: Imagination
Play the role as a human being... human beings are three-dimensional.
I never wanted to be in a gang. I didn't want to follow anybody's orders.
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.
I was on 'The Shield' for a year before 'Crash' came out, and it was like doing an independent film every week.
I don't know about you, but for me, if I got to present any kind of award, I'm shaking in my pants.
I didn't realise I lived in the ghetto until we moved out.
I feel lucky. I feel blessed. If you get blessed with some ability, I think you have to work hard at it. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he wasn't the best shooter, even though he had the skill, and he had to work and work at it.
A good director is like a good coach. You want to play for him. You want to really show him your good stuff. You don't want to let that person down. Ridley Scott is one of those guys.
Marvel just does things differently.
I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked.
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.
I used to tour with this band. I was a drummer. I would tour a bunch for about 10 months out of the year and act for about two months. I would make what I needed from acting and would stretch it out.
I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.
I want to do more sci-fi films. I want to play half-alien, half-illegal alien.
It's so interesting to watch Ben Stiller work because he just knows what's funny.
I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.
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.
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.
Kicks to the legs, they're not very cool. They're brutal.
I don't think people are experiencing superhero fatigue. Do you hear people complaining that there are too many action movies? I think it's good entertainment.
When I was a kid, I lived in a poor part of Chicago, and I remember my brother and me using towels as capes. My son does it, too.
I've been seeing superhero movies as long as I can remember. I don't think they're going anywhere.
I remember seeing 'Dead Poet's Society,' and it made it appealing in a way that I actually went to prep school.
It would be great to play Cesar Chavez. That would be an interesting role for me.
Actors love the big speeches and love to be the center of attention. I mean, that's why we do it.
When I started wrestling, I sucked. I hated losing, so I started doing pushups and more squats, and then I did summer wrestling and learned different styles.
I was a quiet kid - I didn't think I needed to be the funniest guy. I was always more of a listener. I went to 12 different schools, and I wasn't the charismatic dude, but I was captain of the track team and wrestling team.
I thought of myself as an individual ever since I was little.
I grew up in the ghetto, and the thing is when there were problems, I knew when to get away.
'Spider-Man' seems to have a different tone to the pure Marvel stuff, but I really enjoyed the 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' and 'Iron Man' movies. I love the special effects and how it seems very real, but at the same time, it still lives within the realm of Marvel. That's got to be a lot of work.
I usually just try to do whatever's on the page because I've done research before - including a lot of analysis - but you end up with conflicting data. To me, the script is king.
I wouldn't say I have comedy chops. I guess you get lucky with good writing because I don't think I'm a comedian by any stretch of the imagination.
Paul Rudd has a very specific brand of humor.
There's a bigger percentage of good cops than bad cops. But the bad cops should be penalised like regular people.
A lot of Americans don't really leave the country.
You have to work on your own thing. You have to work on yourself, and you have to bring something to the game.
Every time I said, 'Man, I'm doing CHiPs,' 100% of the time they would ask, 'Is Erik Estrada going to be in it?'
When I did 'Crash,' to be honest with you, it was just another acting job. I just wanted to do as good as I possibly could.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I've been shot at before. I remember I very calmly went down on the ground. Afterwards, you're like, 'Omigod.' You just don't have time to think.
When I watch movies with my kid like 'Shrek,' I'm like, 'Wow, this is pretty funny.' That's why I wanted to start doing movies like that - so my kid would laugh at my jokes.
I'll do anything to make my kid laugh.
I remember I used to think my dad was really cool working at a factory. He used to make buttons. I used to brag, 'This button here, My dad made it.' There was this sense of pride. It's knowing your dad is doing something cool.
We all want approval.
I think about where I grew up and how I grew up: my dad was making $25,000 a year. Taking a chance wasn't really taking a chance. It was like you were going for something better. To me, there wasn't that much risk involved.
I was in L.A., like, four months, and I got my first part. Then I was like, 'OK, I'm staying.'
There are not too many times when a movie's not cynical, you know what I mean?
It feels good, pouring your heart out over something, and then all of a sudden people are getting inspired.
You have to make your choices however you see fit and just keep your integrity as best you can.
I think, in any debate, you have to respect the other person's point of view, if you agree or disagree.