Top 35 Steve Zahn Quotes

I don’t care if you’ve just won an Oscar, you still have to campaign for parts.

It goes all the way back to ‘Psycho.’ Movies with twists like that are memorable because they’re so simple.

You work with stand-up comedians or you work with somebody in theater, you work with somebody from ‘Star Search’ or ‘Survivor’ or a kid, it constantly changes how you play with people.

I love general history. That’s all I read really. I don’t read novels, I read history. I love it. I live in an area that’s really rich in Civil War history. I live in Kentucky on a farm. A lot of revolution, a lot of military history I love.

I love ‘Shattered Glass.’ It’s one of my favorite movies. I think it’s just brilliant.

I was in high school, and I was the guy that always got cast in the school play. Theater is huge in high school in Minnesota, and I knew that I was very good at that, and gifted, and I was ‘the guy,’ but it still wasn’t something I ever thought of as ‘a job’ or something that one could do professionally.

I’ve never watched an episode of ‘Star Trek.’ For real.

I was going to be a Marine before I was going to be an actor. I was really serious about joining the Marine Corps.

My parents were reasoned and deep thinkers. My dad is an intellectual and a literary man.

I still really love acting. I find it really challenging. And I really love film; it’s a lot of fun.

I like to fish. I’m an outdoorsman. I love to hunt and fish.

I remember seeing ‘Les Miserables’ with the original cast – this was in ’87 – and I was blown away by it.

I think, a lot of times in a big city, you’re working even when you’re not.

You still really fight for good parts. It never stops. It’s never a breeze. The people at the top of their game work as hard as the people at the bottom.

I’ve done movies where they didn’t have enough money to have trailers.

People got to know me very gradually. It was little things. It’s still like that. ‘That Thing you Do!’ was a big thing. It’s always been very gradual. Like I say, people still ask me if I’m still acting. ‘I’ve seen all your movies. What are you doing now?’ Ha ha!

My dad was the chaplain at Mankato State University, and my mom worked in the bookstore. We lived just off-campus. Then we moved to the suburbs of Minneapolis, to New Hope, which is where I went to high school.

I remember seeing my sister in a play when I was very young, and I remember telling my folks, ‘I want to do that.’

I moved to New York to do theater, and I got cast in a play that was funny, and then I was the funny guy. I did a movie that was funny, and then I was the funny guy.

I don’t have a publicist.

When I was younger, you get pigeonholed in parts, which is understandable.

I love ‘Safe Men.’ Now it’s getting all this culty kind of – it just came out on DVD. That was awesome. I read that script, I never laughed so hard in my life.

I’m not a sci-fi kind of guy, to be honest.

Andy Serkis is one of the best actors I have ever worked with. He might be the best actor I have ever worked with.

The beauty of acting is you just get lost in it. You play the character, and you hope that it works.

I met my wife in 1990 when I was on the national tour of ‘Bye, Bye Birdie.’

I lived in Minnesota in a small town.

I’m huge on spring and summer gardening. I’m really proud of my perennial beds. That’s a passion of mine.

I’ve never had the luxury – or the nightmare – of having something just blow up and be this huge success and then have everything thrown at you. Being ‘the best friend’ lessens the responsibility, ’cause I can still go do another movie after something that doesn’t do well.

I never wanted the business to dictate my life. I’m sure I’ve sacrificed and missed out on a lot of stuff, but I don’t know what that stuff is, so I just raised kids, and I wanted to be around for that.

PlayStation 3 is another form of meditation. Come on, when you’re on set, all day? That’s what I do in my trailer, I just play PlayStation 3.

Any director who’s also acted understands the fact that every person has a different process and has to be approached differently.

I never expect anything; I just go make a movie. I do the best I can, and whatever happens, happens.

I’m theater trained.

I always gravitate toward the humor in something.