From the time I was a kid, I was crazy about anything having to do with the West. I'd look at all of these photos of Montana, and they all seemed so magical and majestic. I just wanted to go west, and I finally did it when I was barely 21. I went off to volunteer at a Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
— Michael Keaton
In terms of the parallels, I've never related less to a character than Riggan.
Colbert makes me crazy: he's so funny. Plus, he seems like an extraordinarily decent dude.
We had four guys in the family, so somebody was always hitting somebody or chasing somebody or getting mad or fighting or wrestling - that was just what you did. So when you're the youngest, it's good for you. You figure out real early how to get out of headlocks and holds.
'Birdman' has kinda... changed things. I'm not saying you won't see traditionally made movies any more. But I've had meetings with directors, and they've said it makes them rethink everything. You can hate this movie, but you have to talk about it. It's going to go down as one of the most interesting movies ever made.
I don't want dogs that have had the personality trained out of them. It's a partnership. I want to connect.
My first day in grade school, I was plain scared. I left the comfort of my run-down house, which I loved, and went to school where it was cold, it smelled, the lighting was bad.
I've changed my diet a few times. Now I'm trying to eat more protein. I eat little meals throughout the day. I love food, so I still give myself great meals. Also, when I'm busy, it's easy to lose weight.
I've proven I'm courageous. I'm gutsier than anybody; I've got a better imagination than anybody; I'm essentially more creative than any other actor I know, and I've proven I take risks. I don't think I need to prove anything to myself any more.
My work is distinct and definitive and specific, and hopefully it is so that every single character is different, and they are - but there's probably an underlying element that's me.
Unpredictability means what it means. I don't know how you define it. It is what it is.
I think one reason I really like women and like working with women is because of my sisters.
My first manager, he had left Germany when he was five, but he would joke about the Nazis. And I'd laugh, but I'd look at him, and he was the first one who told me, 'You know, funny is a powerful thing; it's a wonderful weapon.'
I don't know how to not be outside since I was a little kid.
People, when they talk or write about comedy, they don't really get it.
If you look at what I do, there's no consistency. The consistency is that there is no consistency. I do projects that are good and not so good.
I liked 'Robocop' because of the director, and it was an intelligent, big-action studio movie.
For years, I'd go to the movies and see guys doing Boston accents and think, 'Oh please, God, I hope I never have to do that.'
I went through a lazy period.
I watch 'Morning Joe' occasionally. I used to watch a lot more than I do now, but I watched it, and all of a sudden, there was this love fest, for crying out loud - this inexplicable love fest one morning - for The Donald.
Day to day and doing the work and getting to that honest point - that, for me, is always about - and always will be as long as I do this - refining and refining and refining and refining the truth... constantly being as truthful and honest and raw and real as you can be.
'Birdman' is a very risky movie. I knew I wanted to do it just from watching Alejandro's other work. I told a friend, 'I would have done it based on 'Amores Perros' alone.'
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, in a really rundown old house. I'd stay out till 8:30, 9:00 at night. Just blow in. My mom and dad never really cared much. It was okay. We were pretty free to roam. I mean, I had no concept of stopping play. It just didn't occur to anyone.
To make extra money, my parents would sell eggs and chickens. I was very little. I remember a chicken's head being chopped off with the chicken running around. I wasn't sure if my imagination was running away with me or if it really happened. It really happened.
I never wanted to play the short game.
I like people-people rather than movie people.
I'm a very private person.
One thing my mother had a nose for was inauthenticity.
I guess I'm probably a Method actor; I don't know... I just think of it as staying in the zone.
I remember my mom threatening me, half-serious: 'You know what? I should take you to Pittsburgh and put you in dance lessons just to keep you occupied.' Well, that brought everything to a screeching halt. 'Jeeze, dance lessons.' In retrospect, it would have been awesome, but then, 'Ugh, dancing - dancing's for sissies.'
I saw 'Wild,' and I thought, 'Wow, this is a lot of things, but one of the things is it's a therapist's dream and a climate-change denier's nightmare.'
Generally, I move in the direction of art.
If I didn't do 'Batman,' 'Birdman' wouldn't have happened.
I'm just shocked at how blatantly shallow people are sometimes.
I still really like newspapers. I'm gonna feel really sad when they go. Or not - maybe I'll be dead.
I find there are a few places where I like to meditate more than in other places. There's a little Catholic church that I go to, and there's another temple I go to - there are certain places where I just feel more comfortable.
Technology, you know. I'm pretty horrible. I use it, but mostly I like to view it from afar. But I'm still fascinated by it.
All actors are my brothers and my sisters. It ain't cool to compare or disparage them. It ain't polite.
I'm just shocked and thankful that I've gotten away with everything - experimenting here, trying at this, failing at that, being good in some things, not so good in others. It's kind of amazing that people are still sticking by me. When they come up to me in the street, I just want to write them all cheques.
I used to say no to almost everything because I thought, 'I've got enough dough, I know what I want to do, and I know what I'm capable of.'
I don't think there's anybody better than Leonardo DiCaprio, and I've been saying that since before anyone knew who he was.
It's great to make your own choices, but there's a price to pay. I could've made more money or been more famous. I could be the current groovy guy.
I'm usually pretty good in front of a live audience. I usually like that.
I was never a huge 007 fan, but I sure liked Sean Connery. I'm sure Pierce Brosnan is good and has his moments, but I've not seen him; I've only seen bits and pieces on TV, so I can't really judge. Pierce looks very natural in the role.
Guys who go on and on about loving women usually don't.
There's this thin line between knowing something is going to be really hard and saying, 'Yeah, you know, but I still gotta see if I can pull it off.'
I worked at a PBS station called WQED in Pittsburgh.
Chris Nolan is great, but I've never seen any of the 'Batman' movies all the way through. I know they're good. I just have zero interest in those kinds of movies.
People always make these generalized statements about Hollywood, and there's all kinds of people in Hollywood.
I never knew anyone who was cloned, but I played one in 'Multiplicity.'
