Top 55 Fred Willard Quotes

I have great respect for the authorities.

I really enjoy working on ‘Modern Family.’

The ‘Tim And Eric’ experience was very strange.

When I started, there was a phase where I wanted to be a cowboy star. I didn’t want to do deep, serious parts.

I did a show called ‘Lois & Clark’ – it was about Superman – years ago. They wanted someone to play the president of the United States. The plot was the president got kidnapped by a group, and they made a clone of him, who was very irresponsible and silly.

I loved Bob Hope and the way he would turn to the camera and break the fourth wall.

I have always been more relaxed around comedy.

There’s different kinds of improv. There’s Second City improv where you try to slowly build a nice sketch. There’s stuff you do in college coffee houses where you just go joke, joke, joke. Bring another funny character with a funny hat on his head. Christopher Guest is more the line of trying to get a story out.

When you think about accountants, who would want to be an accountant? But, what would we do without accountants? Whether it’s soldiers or garbage men or doctors, everyone has the thing that they love.

I guess it’s from going to Virginia Military Institute. I’m a good person to follow orders.

I saw the ‘Wizard of Oz’ recently and realized that, all my life, I thought they were real monkeys with wings. That’s how scary that movie was for me.

I still think ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ was what they call one of those watershed movies. That and ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘Psycho’ were just landmarks for those horror films.

Bob Balaban is so perfect that the first movie I did with him, I couldn’t talk to him because I was so intimidated by him.

If you’re not doing something right, you can feel it on stage, and if it isn’t going well, the audience will tell you. A teacher can teach you sense memory and this and that, but until you get in front of an audience, you don’t really feel it.

There’s this whole underground world of amateur television production.

My first improv was Second City in Chicago. Before that, I worked at – with a partner, doing comedy sketches.

A great director is someone who makes you feel like you’re moving forward.

I’ve never crossed over to be a big star. I’d like to be in a big $100 million movie, though. ‘Cause I was in an ‘Austin Powers,’ I think I had two lines, and every once in a while, I get a check, a really nice check, for that movie.

As an actor, and as you get to a certain level… and it’s pilot season and you read the trades, you could have a nervous breakdown. ‘So-and-so’s signed for a pilot. Why aren’t I?’

When we need a policeman, God bless ’em, they’re there. But, if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, everything seems suspicious.

All America is familiar with the Yankee-Dodger-Giant trivia, but so many other teams had great moments.

Because I started my career in improv, performing with Second City and the Ace Trucking Company, I always enjoy being in situations where – as an actor – you have to think fast & be light on your feet.

I like the characters that have some redeeming quality or if it’s interesting to me in any way.

People still quote my lines from ‘Best in Show.’

I think my wife saw a picture of the rock group Journey, and they’re kind of aging, and the one guy had dyed blonde hair with black roots, and… my idea was to get a little earring, I wanted to have a dangling earring.

I’d love to have Burt Reynolds’ career.

I love sketch; it’s my favorite form. But if it’s all improv, they’re either very good, and it’s annoying how good they are, and it makes you feel bad, or they’re not too good; then you’re sweating for them.

I’ll talk your ear off if you recognize me.

Comedy relieves you. A lot of times, we think we’re the only people bothered by certain things. Then you hear a comic say, ‘Don’t you hate it when…’ And it’s, ‘Oh, my God! Of course!’

If I have to play an obnoxious character, try to find a redeeming feature of him. The most obnoxious people in the world were people, and they had had a reason for doing what they did. So you try to find that and let the obnoxiousness come out.

I always loved comedy growing up – Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye.

I’ll go in a minute to see a sketch show.

I think if you have a funny thought, and you want to get off a funny point, try to do it as realistically as you can. If you try to act it funny and accent the funny points, or do it in a funny style, you kind of lose it.

Some of the Christopher Guest movies, when I’m not really like myself, when I have my hair dyed blonde or had a faux-hawk haircut. Those I like to watch because it takes you away from your real self.

I guess the essence of my comedy is to get into a very abnormal situation but act like it’s normal.

After working with Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, and Jonathan Mangum, I said, ‘I am never going to talk about improv again.’

If I like a movie, I see no reason not to go back for Parts 2, 3, 4, etc.

I never think I’m old enough to play someone’s dad, even though I have a daughter of my own and a grandson.

Someone I’ve always admired is Catherine O’Hara… I think she’s one of the best actresses in the country, not only comedy. I just think she’s just a step aside from everybody, she’s just wonderful.

I was an only child.

‘Field of Dreams.’ Definitely one of the best baseball films of all time. When Kevin Costner spoke to his dad, and his dad answered, I, um, I mean a lot of guys I know couldn’t help crying.

If you’re a cheerleader, people see you. If you’re a mascot, you’re just helping out.

With improv or a full length play – you know how you go to a theater, and after 10 minutes you say, ‘Oh, I don’t like this thing,’ but you don’t want to get up and leave? At a sketch show, it’s always something new every few minutes.

I’ve been in a lot of shows, I will say that. Every once in a while, I’ll look at a tape of something I’ve done, and I won’t even remember having done it.

If you’re going to take a risk as a comic, make sure it’s surrounded by other things that you’re certain are funny.

Cleveland is my hometown, and the Indians have a narrow but rich history.

I guess if you’re a professional mascot, you’re doing it for the money, but a college mascot just wants to be out there.

One of the great things about kids is they haven’t heard a lot of the old jokes. You can get away with the corny ones.

I have a guy who does my hair. He’s a car nut. And he was taking motorcycle lessons. And, what was my point?

Getting those parts in the Christopher Guest movies was the second biggest helper to my career after ‘Fernwood.’

I first became interested in ‘great moments’ when I read about the famous Feller-to-Boudreau pickoff play in the 1948 World series.

Comedy is harder, because if there’s no laughs, it’s pretty bad. But drama, if there’s no reaction, you can say, ‘Well, it’s not their cup of tea. Maybe it’s too heavy for the audience.’

I just admire everybody and sit in awe and watch them.

How can we say any one actor’s work was better than another’s?

I’ve always wanted to be on a soap opera.