If you chase something too desperately, it eludes you.
Comedy is unique in the sense that laughter is a palpable noise that everyone makes.
If you are a great dramatic actor then you often don't know if people are enjoying your stuff at all because they are sitting there in silence. But with comedy it's a simple premise. If it's funny, people laugh. If it's not, they don't.
I don't go to premieres, unless I'm contractually bound to.
I'm a huge fan of Jack Lemmon, he was someone who managed to tread that line between comedy and tragedy and sometimes give very big performances, but they were never over-demonstrative and they were never not based on a kind of real truthful human being.
People regurgitate the same old cliches and it becomes like a photocopy of a photocopy of something that's vaguely interesting.
Actually, bizarrely, in America, I get more appreciation from the odd, unusual stuff I've done, almost because I'm not, if you like, famous in America as I am in England.
I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product.
I've always been drawn to discomfort and that limbo of unease you get between comedy and tragedy. Making people laugh one moment and the next making them feel really uncomfortable.
There's something quite joyful about doing comedy which doesn't really need much analysis. I'm not elitist. I like to do crowd-pleasing stuff which is a bit smart, but is just about belly laughs.
When I see friends from school I think they've all grown old and I've stayed the same.
The trick is always to write in pairs because if at least two people find it funny, you've immediately halved the odds of it not being funny.
Actors say they do their own stunts for the integrity of the film but I did them because they looked like a lot of fun.
When you see a crowd of people jumping up and down at a pop concert, all gloriously in the moment, I don't think you'll ever see a comedian there. They'll all be standing at the sides, looking at how it all fits together.
I used to do stuff at college. I could do voices. I could make some people laugh. I wasn't the class clown, but I knew I had this skill.
I did not become successful in my work through embracing or engaging in celebrity culture. I never signed away my privacy in exchange for success.
As soon as I see period costume, I turn off. It's like hearing drama on Radio 4.
But with comedy it's a simple premise. If it's funny, people laugh. If it's not, they don't.
If the person who can effectively sanction ill-conceived wars can play the electric guitar, which is a symbol of rebellion, then that whole worldview becomes confused.
I don't think I'm kind of universally known. I think in the indie world I'm probably better known than in some mainstream Hollywood terms.
