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Steve Martin

Steve Martin Quotes

Actor

Steve Martin is a renowned American comedian, screenwriter, director, and musician, born on August 14, 1945. He has achieved great success in film, television, and theater, known for his unique sense of humor and acting skills.

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All Funny People Ifs Thinking Knows Comedy Humor Writing Firsts Way Men Years Shows Art Audience Believe Banjos Different Hard Play

Famous Steve Martin Quotes

“You know, a lot of people come to me and they say, "Steve, how can you be so fucking funny?" There's a secret to it, it's no big deal. Before I go out, I put a slice of bologna in each of my shoes. So when I'm on stage, I feel funny.”

People Knows Feels Bigs Deals Secret Stage Shoes Big Deal Bologna

Author:Steve Martin

“People come up to me and say "Steve, what is film editing?" And I say "How should I know? You're the director.”

People Knows Should Film Directors Come Up Should I Editing

Author:Steve Martin

“I just respected comedians whether they were or they weren't, from, you know, new or old.”

Author:Steve Martin

“Whether I'm involved in creating something or not, it's a personal issue of do I respect it. But you can only know that five or ten years later.”

Knows Years Issues Five Involved Ten Creating Creating Something Personal Issues

Author:Steve Martin

“In a strange way, I don't have a job, so I have a lot of time on my hands. When I do work, it might be very concentrated, and it might be months where you're not really doing anything except maybe playing the banjo or writing something. You know, there's a lot of time in the day if you're not working 9 to 5.”

Ifs Knows Way Writing Hands Might Jobs Strange Months Working It Banjos

Author:Steve Martin

“You have to get comfortable [with your work], you really have to know what you're doing, and it has to be almost boring to you to be able to do it well.”

Knows Wells Able Comfortable Boring

Author:Steve Martin

“Any type of humor can be transferred to the screen, as long as there's clarity. The audience wants to know just what they're supposed to be feeling, when they're supposed to laugh.”

Knows Want Long Feelings Audience Laughing Type Screens Clarity Supposed To Be

Author:Steve Martin

“When I first started doing my stand-up act, I played the banjo, did comedy, magic tricks, juggled, read poetry. I stuck it all in. I didn't know you were supposed to just stand up and tell jokes. Essentially, that's what my act became: those five elements - except I dropped the poetry.”

Knows Firsts Five Comedy Magic Elements Jokes Stuck Tricks Banjos Magic Tricks Five Elements

Author:Steve Martin

“At first I had no skills in writing comedy. I didn't know what a joke was, but, as someone once told me, your emotions follow your intent. If you create the intention of starting a comedy act, slowly your mind starts adjusting and you arrive at a new emotional state.”

Ifs Knows Writing Mind Firsts States Emotion Comedy Emotional Skills Jokes Intention Starting Adjusting Writing Comedy

Author:Steve Martin

“I like what a third man brings. A kind of oblique vision, seeing something in the material that you didn't know was there. As a comedian, I'm always listening to the audience. And in movies, sometimes the only audience you have is the producer and the director. I like having someone else's opinion, especially if you're on the same wavelength.”

Ifs Knows Men Kind Sometimes Vision Opinion Audience Seeing Materials Listening Directors Thirds Producers Comedian Wavelength

Author:Steve Martin

“I think films are about having a good time, so I don't know that there's a message. The message of a film is always what a critic writes, and the fun of a film or the emotion of a film is what the audience feels.”

Thinking Knows Feels Writing Film Fun Emotion Audience Messages Critics Good Times Having A Good Time

Author:Steve Martin

“Acting keeps me alert to people, and life. I don't know, there's something about going to work early in the morning, and having to stay alert and concentrated. Maybe that keeps your mind alive.”

People Knows Mind Acting Morning Alive Going To Work

Author:Steve Martin

“With comedy, you never know until you put it in front of an audience. You shoot it and a year later you have no idea if it's going to work. And then you get the response. It's great when it's good.”

Ifs Knows Years Ideas Audience Comedy Fronts Response No Idea Going To Work

Author:Steve Martin

“The teen years are extremely serious and everything matters and every insult really hurts. I know there are cliques and bullying. And you don't yet understand that it will all go away.”

Knows Years Matter Hurt Serious Insult Going Away Bullying Clique

Author:Steve Martin

“I do think that animated films have the ability to touch you someplace. There is something about live action movies that is different because we know the characters are real people, so they always stay flawed for us somehow. But animated films touch us in a very clear, uncomplicated place. They have that ability. And an animated character can make an expression in a way humans can't do.”

People Thinking Knows Way Humans Different Real Character Action Film Ability Clear Expression Flawed Animated Action Movie Uncomplicated Animated Films

Author:Steve Martin

“I knew I wanted to be in show business so I took the path of least resistance. I loved comedy. But you never know you are funny until people laugh. It's just what I was interested in. I could make people laugh, I guess, but doing it at school and doing it onstage are very different things.”

People Knows Different Shows Wanted School Laughing Path Comedy Resistance Different Things Show Business Making People Laugh Path Of Least Resistance

Author:Steve Martin

“It's very hard sometimes when you can't crack something or can't solve something and you keep trying and trying and you know it's falling a little bit short. That's very hard, but then when you finally do it, it's very rewarding and the process is good too, I like working with people this way.”

People Knows Way Trying Littles Sometimes Hard Fall Bits Process Little Bit Solve Cracks Keep Trying

Author:Steve Martin

“You know when you're telling these little stories? Here's a good idea: have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!”

Knows Littles Ideas Stories Interesting Planes Good Ideas Listeners Automobile

Author:Steve Martin

“It's not what you know, it's what you think you know.”

Thinking Knows Abiding You Think You Know Law Abiding Citizen

Author:Steve Martin

“It eventually appeared to be me, cinematically. When I was writing it I was actually an author, you know, writing a book. ... But there certainly is a difference in energy between a younger man and an older man.”

Knows Men Writing Book Energy Differences Writing A Book Older Man

Author:Steve Martin

“I'm not Vegas. Places I play usually cost like $3 to get in, you know, and people are going: Gee, I've got $3, I think I'll throw it away.”

People Thinking Knows Play Cost Vegas

Author:Steve Martin

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”

“You know what your problem is, it's that you haven't seen enough movies - all of life's riddles are answered in the movies.”

Knows Enough Problem Funny Havens Movie Reincarnation Riddle Grand Canyon Enough Movie

Author:Steve Martin

“I think I meant that, given the circumstances of my childhood, I had the illusion that it's easier to be alone. To have your relationships be casual and also to pose as a solitary person, because it was more romantic. You know, I was raised on the idea of the ramblin' man and the loner.”

Thinking Knows Men Persons Ideas Given Childhood Circumstances Easier Illusion Raised Solitary Casual Loner

Author:Steve Martin

“I cringe at backstory. Because it never quite explains or gets into some psychological thing that is never quite right and never quite the truth and who knows why someone is someway.”

Knows Way Psychological Cringe

Author:Steve Martin

“I was raised with "Laurel and Hardy" and "I Love Lucy" and Jerry Lewis, and I just loved it. And I had a friend in high school and we would just laugh all day and put on skits. You know, it's the Andy Kaufman thing or the Marty Short thing where you're performing in your bedroom for yourself.”

Knows School Laughing High School Raised Performing Bedroom Jerry Lucy Hardy Laurels Marty Skit Laurel And Hardy

Author:Steve Martin

“The bluegrass community... can be very strict. I didn't know if I'd be welcomed into the bluegrass community or not, but I think they judge you very fairly... I felt really welcome.”

Ifs Thinking Knows Felt Community Judging Welcome Strict Bluegrass

Author:Steve Martin

“There's a lot of thought in art. People get to talk about important things. There's a lot of sex, you know, in art. There's a lot of naked women and men, and there's intrigue, there's fakery. It's a real microcosm of the larger world.”

People Knows Men World Art Important Real Sex Men And Women Important Things Naked Intrigue Microcosm

Author:Steve Martin

“I have heard it said that a complicated childhood can lead to a life in the arts. I tell you this story of my father and me to let you know I am qualified to be a comedian.”

Knows Art Said Stories Humor Funny Father Heard Childhood Complicated Comedian Qualified

Book:Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Source: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

“She looked down again and I was stymied. I sat. Oh, this was enough to make me love her, because I was right with her, understanding every second and longing to step in. I didn’t even need to know the specific that was troubling her, because to me her halting voice easily stood for the general woe that hangs in the air, even on life’s happiest days.”

Knows Needs Enough Understanding Voice Steps Air Longing Sat Woe Every Second

Book:The pleasure of my company

Source: The pleasure of my company

“He gave her his phone number, in a peculiar reversal of dating procedure. She might have considered kissing him, even after the horrible first date, but he just didn’t seem to know what to do. However, Jeremy does have one outstanding quality. He likes her. And this quality in a person makes them infinitely interesting to the person who is being liked.”

Knows Firsts Persons Doe Seems Might Interesting Numbers Quality Kissing Dating Phones Likes Horrible Peculiar Procedures Outstanding First Date Reversal Phone Numbers Kissing Him

Author:Steve Martin

“His view of the world is one that keeps his blood pressure low, sweeping the cholesterol from his relaxed, freeway-sized arteries. Everyone knows he is going to live till age ninety, although the question that goes begging is, “for what?”

Knows World Age Views Blood Lows Pressure Relaxed Ninety Begging Sweeping Freeways Arteries Blood Pressure Cholesterol

Book:Shopgirl

Source: Shopgirl

“You want to know how I think art should be taught to children? Take them to a museum and say, 'This is art, and you can't do it.”

Thinking Knows Want Should Children Art Know How Taught Museums

Author:Steve Martin

“You know, there's a moment when you're famous when it's unbearable to go out because you're too famous. And then there's a moment when you're famous just right.”

Knows Moments Fame Unbearable

Author:Steve Martin

“You know, you're really nobody in L.A. unless you live in a house with a really big door.”

Knows Bigs House Doors

Author:Steve Martin

“You know that look that women get when they want to have sex? Me neither.”

Knows Want Looks Sex

Author:Steve Martin

“I was deeply unhappy, but I didn't know it because I was so happy all the time.”

Knows Humor Funny Unhappy

Book:L.A. Story: And, Roxanne : Two Screenplays

Source: L.A. Story: And, Roxanne : Two Screenplays

About the Author

Born: August 14, 1945
Known for: Actor
Quotes: 353

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Funny People Ifs Thinking Knows Comedy Humor Writing Firsts Way Men Years Shows Art Audience Believe Banjos Different Hard Play

Popular Topics

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Books & Sources

Born Standing Up: A Comic's LifeRelated source material

ShopgirlRelated source material

The pleasure of my companyRelated source material

An Object of BeautyRelated source material

L.A. Story: And, Roxanne : Two ScreenplaysRelated source material

Shopgirl: A NovellaRelated source material

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