actors-from-canada

"Outer space is like Dolly Parton. You don't quite believe it, but there it is."

"[Asked if he was conscious of being an unusual actor] Well, I was always cast as an artistic homicidal maniac. But at least I was artistic!"

"We’ve lost one of the greats. Donald Sutherland brought a level of brilliance to his craft few could match. A remarkable, legendary actor — and a great Canadian."

"I wanted it to be a piece of film rather than a video promotional clip. I wanted it to be a short piece of film that would hopefully do justice to the original book and let people understand the story that couldn’t really be explained in the song. So we wanted a great actor — we thought of Donald Sutherland — and he was so encouraging and made it so easy for me. Whenever we were acting, he was my father. I just had to react to him like a child. He made it very easy."

"I heard a voice saying hello and I looked down. Standing down there was a very small Kate Bush. … She wanted to explain what her video was about. I let her in. She sat down, said some stuff. All I heard was "Wilhelm Reich". I’d taken an underground copy of his The Mass Psychology of Fascism with me when I went to film Bertolucci’s Novecento in Parma. Reich’s work informed the psychological foundations of Attila Mellanchini, the character Bernardo had cast me to play. Everything about Reich echoed through me. He was there then and now he was here. Sitting across from me in the person of the very eloquent Kate Bush. Synchronicity. Perfect. She talked some more. I said OK and we made Cloudbusting. She’s wonderful, Kate Bush. Wonderful. I love that I did it."

"I love to work. I passionately love to work. I love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I find a huge freedom — time stops for me. I’m not as crazy as I used to be, but I’m still a little crazy."

"We had a housekeeper in Canada, a wonderful woman, whose father raped all of his daughters. She went to see him when he was dying and said, "I'm here to forgive you." He said, "Forgiveness for what? It was my right.""

"Donald Sutherland was one of the smartest actors I ever worked with. He had a wonderful enquiring brain, and a great knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. He combined this great intelligence with a deep sensitivity, and with a seriousness about his profession as an actor. This all made him into the legend of film that he became."

"Donald was a brilliant actor and a complex man who shared quite a few adventures with me, such as the FTA Show, an anti-Vietnam war tour that performed for 60,000 active duty soldiers, sailors, and marines in Hawaii, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Japan in 1971. I am heartbroken."

"I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived."

"I’m really hoping that in some movie I’m doing, I die — but I die, me, Donald — and they’re able to use my funeral and the coffin … That would be absolutely ideal. I would love that."

"You hone your craft so that you can be excellent in whatever it is that you do. I say that to my kids but it really is about the way you approach your work, your craft, whatever, that’s what makes you a success. You can be pissy about not getting the lead role or the attention you think you deserve, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about doing the best role you can. Our industry is based on hope – being discovered and all that, but that accounts for only 0.001% of success. I’m pragmatic, I just decided I was going to be excellent and realistic and be a grinder at my work. I was just going to keep going, be happy, work hard, and accept the roles that came to me."

"I fell in love with the craft of acting. Breaking down a scene, finding the beat, understanding character motivation – all of these things became real to me on a level that I had never before appreciated. It was more than just memorizing lines; it was excitement and never in a million years before this, did I think that this would be a job for me. And that was exciting as well!"

"When you’re 18 and you’re starting to lose your hair – it sucks. So, my agent always got me roles that were older than my actual age. I’m Asian and an actor and I worried about my appearance. I played dads, grand-dads and that was my career. But that taught me something: I learned that I’m never going to have a leading role but that doesn’t matter; I’m going to be the best actor I can – bit roles, whatever and that attitude made me a better actor. I believed I could be a character actor and that’s a thing to aspire to."

"When you are improvising a show, it’s different as well, because people understand you are improvising, you’re allowed to make mistakes. When you watch game shows, the really good ones, [they] look like they don’t ever miss a beat. I’ve realized that it’s because they are all edited within an inch of their lives, there were probably tons of mistakes, but it looks like everything is going smooth, but it’s like getting into the deep end of the pool and being forced to sink or swim. I’m curious to see how I was in the first episode versus the finale, as almost two different hosts because at the end I found my comfort zone, and I was more familiar with the language, the technical aspects of what was going on and being more engaged, getting to know the kids a lot better and getting to know the format a lot better."

"I learned that intelligence is something that isn’t easy to measure and I’ve come to believe that heart matters. I don’t want to spoil things, but you can see during certain moments the heart of the competitors rise above."

"Television is a gateway for other people too. It reaches such a mass audience and it only makes sense that this is the easiest way for newcomers to learn about Canadian society and a love of pop culture comes out of that. That’s why shows like Star Trek that have such a positive and hopeful view of society in the future are so important because they will reach that audience and give them hope. It’s a powerful medium that has so much influence, so much power to abuse the trust that audiences give to it."

"Script in television is easier: you can study it and do your homework. When doing “Kim’s,” I’m often three days ahead of schedule, learning my lines and making choices because I have the luxury of an almost complete script in front of me. It’s different from doing a television show that’s improvised and ad-libbed; basically what you are saying is predicated by what the competitors do. As a host, you have to think about so many different things because there are so many different moving parts—not only technically being aware of where the cameras are, but also reacting to what you are given by the competitors and making it seem effortless is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life!"

"Show what you can do and be excellent at it, then you can’t be ignored anymore. It doesn’t have to be a culturally or ethnically specific role or project; you can just be a talented filmmaker, artist, actor, producer or whatever, you can turn that corner. If that’s what gets you in great, but that isn’t what we should always be limited to (culture/ethnicity)."

"When you are raised in a culture and have grown to accept that everybody else’s story is normal, you believe that your story isn’t important. I have never seen a representation of my story on television."

"I’ve always found solace in being able to lose myself in a story. It fueled my imagination – my own desire to tell stories. I didn’t have brothers growing up… I didn’t have close friends, so I was left to my own devices. I took to writing, reading a lot and building Lego kits and creating my own worlds and stories."

"I would say follow your passion, follow what you love. You are going to be doing it for a long time, so at least you have to like it! I know a lot of people who have a good paying job and when I ask if they like it, they say “no.” Then why are you doing it then and what would you rather be doing? “Well, to make money.” You make these choices in life, you can choose to be comfortable or choose to be passionate and do both, few can do both at the same time. That’s life too. I had to work retail jobs just so I could stay acting. But there was never a question for me to quit acting. I was just too stupid and stubborn to quit! Things change, if you have a family too, I get it! You need more money for your kids to eat! If acting doesn’t pay for it, then you need to get that job and you find a way to make things work. Sometimes you have to wait, but at the end of the day, nobody owes you anything!"

"Good storytelling stands for itself."

"For a large part of my youth, I was very angry and very pissed off. It’s one of those things where you’re allowed to feel that. However, if you spend all your time pissing and moaning about and just talking about it, instead of doing something about it, that’s the problem. When you are complaining about the status quo, it’s easy to rail against the man and it’s comfortable because usually when you are ranting about it, so many people agree with you. The hardest thing is doing something about it. It’s a painful lesson to learn, but I’m on the other side now and I understand completely, especially younger people, being super pissed and stuff. I needed to understand when I was young too, that no one is just going to hand it to you because of the color of your skin or because you think you deserve it. This is a difficult industry we are in. You have to focus on doing your job, doing your best, so next time they can’t ignore you."

"I’m always just surprised by how quickly you’re able to form bonds with people and get to know people. I feel like when you’re put together to work on some kind of project you really become this quick family with the cast and the crew while you’re shooting. The times that I’ve been able to work on something for a long period of time I think what’s always surprised me is that secondary component, where obviously you get the work and being on set and the acting, but the other side that’s sort of fulfilling and interesting is how many different people you get to be exposed to and get to know really well. Some of them you stay friends with forever, some of them you never really see again. And some of them you only see every now and then. But in that moment you really get to have that intense experience together."

"Most shows, if you’re on them long enough, they feel like family, but sometimes it’s a dysfunctional family."

"Feature films are more exciting because you have so much more pressure on you, there’s people all around and you’re in the setting of the film. I definitely enjoy feature films more."

"I know a lot of Russian guys and gals. I find in cultures where people are so used to difficulty, that if they don’t have difficulty they’re miserable. So they’re only happy in their struggle. I love their sayings: “Life sucks. But death isn’t that hot either.” So you go, “OK!” That’s the kind of people I like."

"It’s hard to evaluate quality as it’s usually always passionate people working with different budgets. So a smaller show may have a more passionate director and production team than someone who is there for a big pay check and a history of good film. I treat it all the same which sounds very diplomatic but is true! Every once and a while you feel a little icky about some gigs but the vast majority of things I’ve been a part of, I’ve been proud of."

"If you're a lover, you've got to be a fighter, 'cause if you don't fight for your love, what kind of love do you have?"

"I like to be with my partner in the bed, to ride my Norton - and maybe it doesn't like me, and that's why I'm on the floor so often -, to play sports, to be with my friends and chat. And nature. It's wonderful to be lost in the desert, or between the waves over a surf board. I'm a life lover."

"Getting his picture taken doesn't rank high on Reeves' list of favorite things. It never has. But he looks up and smiles when a pair of comforting hands rest on his shoulders: They belong to Carrie-Anne Moss, his longtime costar from the Matrix movies, positioning herself behind him for the shot. There's an ease between them that comes from 20-plus years of friendship — a friendship that began in the late '90s when the pair met on the genre-redefining sci-fi film that turned out to be so influential, it single-handedly introduced phrases like "glitch in the Matrix" and "red-pilling" to the pop culture lexicon... Moss calls their connection effortless. "We've been through this experience together as partners," says the actress, 54. "The only way I can describe it is like a soul friendship." Their unique bond made 1999's The Matrix what it is today, and The Matrix, in turn, changed the course of moviemaking on the eve of a new millennium... Before Moss and Reeves change into their next outfits for the photo shoot, they slip away, catching up on each other's lives since making Resurrections. They push through the studio's back exit, flooding the darkened room with afternoon sunshine. Fans of the films might immediately think of the door of light, a portal Neo would use to slip into the digital "backdoor" of the Matrix."

"It's Trinity! It's Carrie-Anne Moss, Trinity flavor. All the fierceness and mind, focus, commitment is there in the gestures. Untamed and wild and controlled. (Speaking to Moss in an interview)"

"It's throwing down the Matrix gauntlet again; it's super smart, clever, entertaining, suspenseful, and funny.... Not that it needed it.. but certainly the depth of why this film got made is the sense of it being a love story between Trinity and Neo."

"It was one of those phone calls where even though you're at home, you stand up...(speaking about the conversation when Lana first told him about her idea for another sequel)"

"[While filming, Lana] was participating more with the movement of the camera, and more interested in doing than rehearsing. It was less about prep and more about everyone's readiness to find the unexpected in the moment...[ they] barely rehearsed, if at all."

"Grief changes shape, but it never ends. People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, ‘It’s gone, and I’m better.’ They’re wrong. When the people you love are gone, you’re alone."

"When we are uncomfortable or anything unpleasant happens, we look to take refuge in something. Usually, we turn to food, alcohol, sex, drugs, money, power, or relationships. But none of these things give us the lasting protection or satisfaction you're looking for. When you understand you can't find lasting happiness in Samsara, then the desire to find true refuge becomes strong. In Buddhism, we take refuge in the three jewels — the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Buddha is like the doctor who understands your disease and knows how to treat it; the Dharma, his teachings, is the medicine he prescribes; and the Sangha is the spiritual community that helps you to take the medicine. To take refuge is to finally seek protection from suffering in a way that can really help you. When we think about the ultimate nature of reality and what causes us to suffer — this is the true meaning of refuge."

"We had filmmakers who you wanted to say yes to... [we had] material that you wanted to commit to, to give everything that you could to. (When asked why he agreed to return to the series after a nearly two-decade hiatus)"

"I didn't like movies. You see, in a play you become the play, because you start in the beginning and end up at the end of the script. Movies, you do little bits and you don't know where it fits in. You just do a little bit here and a little bit there and you never see the whole thing, you can never act out the whole thing. It has no unity. I would advise anybody-a kid-instead of doing pictures, get experience! Do theater! Get theater in his blood!"

"I think, to be what you are, don't take advice from other people. Find your advice in your heart. Yes, find your advice in your heart. It's yours and you keep it. And if you think it's helpful to other people... then share it. I think the things we share are very important."

"I worked alongside McInnes at the start of Vice in 1994, becoming the magazine’s editor shortly after it moved from Montreal to New York in 1999. Though McInnes immediately struck me as someone to avoid outside of work, nothing then indicated he would hatch an organization as vitriolic and violence-prone as the street-brawling Proud Boys. He and I were never friends. Founding editor Suroosh Alvi—who remains at Vice Media with the title of founder—brought me on board as a writer at the same time as McInnes. And when I stepped down in early 2001, it was largely because of McInnes’s toxic attitude."

"I was an atheist most of my life and now I am a God-fearing Catholic, because of the miracle of life. And I'm pro-life. Amongst my peers abortion is cool, it's like, empowering, and they make jokes about it. Some of my best friends go, "I accept that it's murder and I am pro-choice." That's the world I live in."

"Heenan: See, if the father is smart, he should tell her "I'll keep it for you'. Then, at Christmas, give it to her. She'll think it came from her dad. It works all the time."

"Savage: Yeah, Christmas in your family must be real, real special."

"Heenan: It is. You should see what they get me."

"Vince: (Jerry Lawler has Bret Hart up against the ringpost) We saw Doink earlier ram Bret's leg into the ringpost, now what's Lawler going to do? (Lawler crotches Bret against the post) Oh no!"

"Bobby: (High voice) Oh it's going to happen to Bret the hitman Hart."

"Vince: Stop it Bobby Heenan!"

"(On Bret's sunglasses gift to fans at ringside)"