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Michael Rapaport

Michael Rapaport Quotes

Actor

Michael Rapaport, born on March 20, 1970, is an American actor known for his outstanding performances in films and television series, particularly in 'Narcos' and 'The Wire'. Rapaport's distinctive acting style has won him a dedicated fan base.

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All Thinking Hip Hop Hips Hops Kids People Trying New York Tribes Way

Famous Michael Rapaport Quotes

“I grew up in New York City in the '80s, and it was the epicenter of hip-hop. There was no Internet. Cable television wasn't as broad. I would listen to the radio, hear cars pass by playing a song, or tape songs off of the radio. At that time, there was such an excitement around hip-hop music.”

Song Cities Car New York Television Grew Internet Grew Up Hip Hop Radio Hips Excitement Hops Broads New York City Tape 80s Cables Hip Hop Music

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I had a boom box, but I didn't go too far with it because I had a really, really big one. It was like the size of a suitcase, and I was just a little kid.”

Littles Bigs Kids Size Boxes Little Kid Suitcases

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I heard Q-Tip on the Jungle Brothers' song 'The Promo.' It was very exciting. It was very new. The music and the culture around hip-hop was evolving. I think there's an emotional quality to their music and there's a vulnerability to the music. For me, A Tribe Called Quest was my Beatles.”

Thinking Song Culture Quality Heard Emotional Brother Exciting Hip Hop Hips Evolve Vulnerability Hops Quests Tribes Jungle Tribe Called Quest

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I would love to document the Roots; I think they have an interesting story. I have a curiosity about them. Their musicality and their live performances I think would be great, and I have a feeling that there are stories behind each one of them.”

Thinking Stories Feelings Would Be Interesting Behinds Roots Performances Curiosity Documents Live Performance Interesting Stories Musicality

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Like any family, like any group - the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, EPMD, Public Enemy - they've had bumps in the road. I just think that because A Tribe Called Quest is so precious to fans, they were concerned about unveiling some of those things.”

Thinking Enemy Groups Fans Concerned Quests Tribes Bumps Zeppelins Public Enemies Unveiling Bumps In The Road Tribe Called Quest

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Right now I'm taking a break from hip-hop documentaries. But I would do it if things lined up.”

Ifs Break Right Now Hip Hop Hips Hops Documentaries Taking A Break

Author:Michael Rapaport

“So to compare the Beatles, obviously the Beatles are the Beatles, but in hip-hop terms, Tribe is the Beatles. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are the Beatles. Big Daddy Kane is Jimi Hendrix. It means that much to people that grew up with it.”

People Mean Bigs Term Five Grew Grew Up Hip Hop Hips Compare Hops Flash Tribes Daddy Furious Hendrix Big Daddy

Author:Michael Rapaport

“The effect hip-hop had on me was enormous. I was exposed to it by happenstance. My father worked at a radio station in New York called WKTU Disco 92. It was the first radio station in New York City to play disco in the late '70s.”

Firsts Play Father Cities Effects New York Late Hip Hop Radio Enormous Hips Hops Stations New York City Exposed Disco Radio Stations Happenstance

Author:Michael Rapaport

“The thing about New York is you can leave your house without a plan and find the day. You can't do that in Los Angeles. You need to get in your car, all this, you can't just drive around like a lunatic. In New York, you can literally walk outside, and wind up anywhere.”

Needs House Walks Plans Car New York Wind Los Angeles Lunatic

Author:Michael Rapaport

“When I was a kid, my first favorite song was probably Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side."”

Firsts Kids Song Sides Walks Reeds Favorite Song Wild Side

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I love doing things that are titillating. I think race can be very funny, and I think I'm very comfortable discussing it and bringing it up.”

Thinking Race Comfortable Discussing

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I don't want to misrepresent who I am personally. I don't want my kids to see me on a talk show and say, "You're talking different" or "You look different, dad." I'm not gonna be an animal; I know how to conduct myself.”

Knows Want Looks Different Shows Kids Animal Talking Know How Dad Who I Am Talk Shows

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I'm not going to try and change how people perceive me. I think it's important to be a contradiction. People are contradictions; everyone has contradictions. So I don't expect anyone to look at me differently.”

People Thinking Trying Looks Important Perceive Contradiction Look At Me

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Positive doesn't mean unflawed: It means human and vulnerable. If you make a film and you're portraying the subject with respect, you're gonna do it in an honest way.”

Ifs Way Humans Mean Film Subjects Honest Vulnerable Portraying

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Socially, hip-hop has done more for racial camaraderie in this country than any one thing. 'Cause guys like me, my kids - everyone under 45 either grew up loving hip-hop or hating hip-hop, but everyone under 45 grew up very aware of hip-hop. So when you're a white kid and you're listening to this music and you're being exposed to it every day on MTV, black people become less frightening. This is just a reality. What hip-hop has done bringing people together is enormous.”

People Country Done Reality Kids Together Guy Hate Causes Black White One Thing Listening Grew Grew Up Hip Hop Enormous Like Me Hips Hops Black People Exposed Frightening Mtv Camaraderie

Author:Michael Rapaport

“My freestyling ability is nonexistent. I can't even write a verse if I tried to sit anywhere and write one. Being a good rapper is hard to do. I'm a good Rapaport, but that's about it.”

Ifs Writing I Can Hard Ability Rapper Verses Good Rapper

Author:Michael Rapaport

“My favorite part is just being able to say and do things that you can't do in real life, and behaving in a way that's just not really acceptable, in the real world.”

World Way Real Able My Favorite Real Life Real World Acceptable Just Being

Author:Michael Rapaport

“When you're playing this bad of a character, it's obviously not reality for someone who's not living that life.”

Character Reality

Author:Michael Rapaport

“To be able to play somebody that says and does pretty much whatever he wants is great.”

Want Doe Play Able

Author:Michael Rapaport

“At the end of the day, my sole goal, when I go into any scene, is to try to be as honest as I possibly can, and then everything else is second. The most important thing for me is to just be as honest as I possibly can.”

Trying Important Ends Goal Honest Scene Important Things The End Of The Day Sole

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Each environment is different, each job is different, and each realm of creativity that they give you is different. You try to do the best you can and put as much time into it as you can, but different jobs have different circumstances come about.”

Giving Trying Different Jobs Creativity Environment Circumstances Realms Do The Best Different Jobs

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Sometimes you know about a job four months in advance. Sometimes you know about a job four days in advance. It's all different, and my thing is just to try to stay prepared. It's like being a boxer. You never know when you're going to get your next fight, so you have to just stay in shape, mentally and physically and creatively.”

Knows Trying Different Sometimes Jobs Fighting Next Four Months Shapes Prepared Boxers

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Call it stubborn, call it ignorant, call it what you want, but I don't think I have to join a particular faith or culture or creed or religion just to fit in.”

Thinking Want Culture Particular Fit What You Want Ignorant Creeds Stubborn

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I'm a New York person. I've never gone out of the way to speak to the press to change my persona - I probably should have. It's too late now. But when I first started I was like, "I'm gonna stay this way. I'm gonna be this way," and I continued to. I probably should have sugarcoated it like, "This is not really the way I am - I'm an actor."”

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I see these other actors come up with this tough-guy personas and now when they're on talk shows they're all... But that's not really the way they are. I probably could have used a little bit of that. At one point I was labeled "The King Of Dumb White Guys." I was offended by that when I was younger, but I understand what that's from, so I was like, "Only a genius can play a fool." But I'm very aware of that, and I'll play into it and use it however I need to use it.”

Guy Fool Genius Dumb Offended Persona

Author:Michael Rapaport

“If my son was an actor I would tell him, "Don't let people know as much about you as I let people know about me." Because I think professionally, it's an easier road. That would be something I would tell a young actor. But it's cool.”

People Thinking Son My Son

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Being a part of independent-film world, the independent-film community, that's what you do. You support each other. If someone's doing a movie and you trust them, you roll the dice. Sometimes it's gonna be good, sometimes it's gonna be something that's like, "Oh I don't know what the hell that is." But I've been more fortunate than not to have it work well.”

World Sometimes Community Support Hell Be Good

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Were there certain things that I didn't feel were dignified enough to make it into the movie? Yeah.”

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Honestly, I'm not listening to much of what's going on today.”

Today Listening Honestly

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Being a good rapper is hard to do. I'm a good Rapaport, but that's about it.”

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I'm always gonna be an actor, so I'm trying to figure out what I'm gonna do next. I would love to make a documentary again someday, but I need to take a break from it.”

Trying Break Someday

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I love my kids, and the moments I have with them, and it's kind of weird, it's such an age old cliche, but the way that my sons, the way they make me feel when I look at them, the way they say things, no one else would probably react to them, but it's a special thing for me.”

Way Feels Looks Kind Moments Kids Age Special Son My Son Cliche Special Things I Love My Kids Love My Kids

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Only a genius can play a fool.”

Play Fool Genius

Author:Michael Rapaport

“A Tribe Called Quest music was so inclusive, so conscious, it brought such a community together.”

Together Community Conscious Quests Tribes Tribe Called Quest

Author:Michael Rapaport

“Being No. 1. It's talked about all of the time in hip-hop. 'I'm still No. 1! I'm the best! I'm the greatest of all time!' It's the same mentality in sports.”

Stills Sports Hip Hop All Time Hips Hops Mentality

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I don't think the subject of a documentary film should be producers on it.”

Thinking Should Film Subjects Producers Documentaries Documentary Films

Author:Michael Rapaport

“I'm identified as a New York actor, I sound like I'm from New York, and I couldn't be more proud of it.”

Actors Sound New York Proud

Author:Michael Rapaport

“To make independent films, you can't think about them too much, ponder on them too much, get overwhelmed by the enormity of it.”

Thinking Film Too Much Independent Overwhelmed Pondering Independent Film

Author:Michael Rapaport

“But it all came, and for me, hip-hop has done more for racial divide and racial sort of bringing together than anything in the last 30 years. Seeing people like Eminem sounding like somebody like Jay-Z and just the racial aspects of it all.”

People Years Done Together Lasts Seeing Aspect Hip Hop Hips Hops Divides

Author:Michael Rapaport

“In any relationship that comes to an end, there's never just a baseline reason why. You say, 'Oh, I broke up with my girlfriend.' Someone says, 'Why?' You say, 'Well, you got three hours? And then maybe after I tell you my version, you've got to talk to her.”

Wells Ends Reason Three Hours Versions Broke Reason Why Girlfriend My Girlfriend Broke Up

Author:Michael Rapaport

“A beautiful girl can make you dizzy, like you've been drinking Jack and Coke all morning. She can make you feel high full of the single greatest commodity known to man - promise. Promise of a better day. Promise of a greater hope. Promise of a new tomorrow. This particular aura can be found in the gait of a beautiful girl. In her smile, in her soul, the way she makes every rotten little thing about life seem like it's going to be okay.”

About the Author

Born: March 20, 1970
Known for: Actor
Quotes: 41

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