Richard Jenkins Quotes

Author Image

Richard Jenkins

Profession : Actor

Birth : May 4, 1947

We all have movies for times in our lives when we really need something.

Richard Jenkins

In college, I was teetering on the edge: Do I want to be an actor? Do I not want to be an actor? And then I saw Michael Caine in 'Alfie,' and I thought, 'Wow, that's what I want to do with my life,' even if I knew I'd never reach that level of proficiency.

Richard Jenkins

Sometimes you read things that people don't even notice in a performance, that you just are moved by or understand that this actor is really living his or her life on the screen. The first time I realized that was when I watched Brando in 'On the Waterfront.'

Richard Jenkins

I always loved movies. I wanted to be in them! I always saw them and said, 'How do you do that?' It seemed like going to the moon. It was not a rational thought, but that's the only thing I wanted to do.

Richard Jenkins

When I was about 12, I came home from middle school and told my parents I wanted to be an actor. My father didn't say it to me, but he told my mom, 'No. I'm not going to allow that. He'll starve to death.' I grew up in a small town in Illinois where being an actor was not something people did.

Richard Jenkins

You find movies when you need them. They may not always be the best films, but they speak to you.

Richard Jenkins

I like not knowing what's around the corner. It's always been that way, and maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm an actor.

Richard Jenkins

I'd like to play the whale in 'Moby Dick.' If I keep eating, I may end up getting there.

Richard Jenkins

I love it when a director says, 'I don't know.'

Richard Jenkins

There's a lot of jobs that you can do that you can be miserable at. Making movies should not be one of them.

Richard Jenkins

I don't consider myself a comedian, but you work with some comedians, and sometimes these guys are incredible on their feet - it's just amazing - and that's not what I do. But it's always fun, and I don't really care as long as the character is interesting.

Richard Jenkins

There's a lot of great directors that I want to work with, but as soon as I mention them, I never get a chance to work with them.

Richard Jenkins