William H. Macy quotes: Frank’s finest words.
“That’s what life’s for, isn’t it? Finding out?”
“Nothing else counts except what you want.”
“The bar raises as you go.”
“The roughest part is showing up. It’s just great fun to let it all go and not be self-conscious, and stop questioning whether you’re sufficient.”
“There’s this fear that you’re not going to be able to come up with the goods. What you realize is that everybody feels that way, so just show up and do the job.”
“You have to do whatever you can to limit the things that could make you feel insecure.”
“Behind every fear is a wish.”
“Never lie. It’s the cheapest way to go. Lies cost you a lot, and they’re never worth what they cost.”
“Emotions are the natural result of striving for something… negotiating this one way or another. The result of that negotiation will bring out all kinds of emotional stuff in you.”
“Sooner or later you’re going to have to talk about it. My wife likes to talk, but I’m not a fan of talking because talking leads to communication, and from there it’s a slippery slope to feelings, and then the next thing you know, you’re living in your life. Nobody wants that.”
“I’ve always felt that, no matter where you go, people are just people.”
“We always want to see people strive and see the human spirit triumph against adversity. That’s what it’s all about because that’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to triumph in our lives.”
“It’s not good for people to have the safety net too low. People can take care of themselves better than we allow them to.”
“I love women. I always have. I’m not pretending that I understand them, but I just love women. I love being in their presence and I love everything about them.”
“I love metaphor the way some people love junk food.”
“I write songs for the girls in my life, for birthdays. I’ve written for my daughters and my wife.”
“I love doing something that I’ve never done before. I like being in charge and I like being the guy that gets to decide if it’s the red one or the green one, and that sort of thing.”
“For the longest time, my goal really was to get to the next show – to just keep working in the business and make enough to pay the rent. Although, in Chicago, I actually did pretty well. I started doing commercials, and we taught classes, and that was an easy way to make money. And then we got a grant, so we actually made a little bit of money for working at the theater. And then I got paid to act – not much, but a little bit.”
“Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood.”
“I take pride in acting whatever they give me. As a point of pride, if they write it, I try to do it. I guess my rule is, ‘Do the good stuff, don’t do the bad stuff.'”
“When they said, ‘Do you wanna do a big, fat Hollywood movie?’ it sounded pretty good.”
“Shameless is a rough show, and it’s not for everyone, but it’s also beautiful.”
“Good God, are we the luckiest people in the world? I’m working towards some version of retirement. We have a place in Colorado. I’d like to live outside of L.A. a little bit. I think I want to slow down, and thanks to Shameless, I can.”
“I’ve always been relatively blunt; it’s just my way. Still, I believe my friends would say that Frank has changed me. I think a lot of my humor is more drug- and alcohol-based than it used to be. I’ve probably got a bit of the Frank in me. I don’t know, it’s like I get to play Donald Trump, just unfiltered – whatever you think comes out.”
“I’m blessed that I’m in this business.”
“I love that I get under people’s skin and will call that a success. That’s the way I measure things.”
“That red carpet has to be felt to be believed.”
“I got an agent. He said, ‘What do you wanna do?’ And I said, ‘I want an Oscar nomination. That’s your job, that’s what I’m paying you for.’ And I got it. I’ll tell you this about the Oscars – they’re real.”
“I really love hanging out on the set, and I love the life, and all of that. But I don’t think I could stick with this profession if it weren’t for those 15 minutes a day when I get to act. That’s the part I love. For some strange reason, it’s the time that I’m the least self-conscious in my whole life.”
“I’m sure I have a process, but it mostly takes place in my dreams.”
“I could become a hermit if I’m not careful; I like that. When people on Facebook say, ‘Stay in touch’ – I don’t want to stay in touch. I don’t want anyone to know where I am.”
“I was a dog in a past life. Really. I’ll be walking down the street and dogs will do a sort of double take. Like, hey, I know him.”
“It’s really easy to be pessimistic about the world, but when you see a hundred people from completely different backgrounds, completely different cultures, who’ve all come together for a project, and it’s to make a piece of art for Christ’s sake, and they’re all working at their maximum, and pulling in the same direction, it makes you want to weep. It’s so beautiful.”
“[On a believer in second chances] Oh absolutely. I certainly needed them in my life. The older I get, the more I want to live for a long time because I only just figured out how to work this thing, if you follow me. I had such an awkward youth and the first couple of years in this business were so difficult. I was so lost, and it’s taken me a long time to get it right. So to answer your question, yes I believe in second chances, absolutely.”
“It’s hard to be a man these days. I think a lot of us feel like we’re under attack and that we need to apologize, and perhaps we do. In what we do for a living, we’ve got to be free to speak the unspeakable and try things.”
“I try to be a good guy. I try to tell the truth, but I’m not religious. It’s an issue, ’cause I’ve got two little kids, and I feel you can’t grow up without knowledge of religion.”
“Yeah, I made it. It sneaks up on you. You’re some schmuck and you wake up one day and you go, ‘Good God, I’m the cheese.'”
Also good: Jason Bateman quotes.
