John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleeseis an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth27 October 1939
writing perfect want
I have a tendency sometimes to get too logical with what I'm writing, just because I want it to be kind of perfect.
enthusiastic hyperbole
The Americans are just more enthusiastic and more likely to engage in hyperbole.
thinking creative realizing
British press think entirely in clichés, and when they do come across creative work, they think that it must be based on something, because they don't realize that you can create things that aren't based on things.
wanted
What I've always wanted to do is be as funny as possible.
gone problem planets
No hope for planet at all. But I will be gone before the planet is gone, so it's your problem.
mistake two safety
Nerves are always a big problem for me, which is why I loved doing American sitcoms. Because you know when you do the take in front of the audience that you're going to do it again afterwards. A minute after you finish, you just go and do it again. So, there's that sort of safety net. And then if you made a little mistake or two, they'll go pick it up, so there's nothing to worry about.
funny sarcastic rooms
Manuel will show you to your rooms - if you're lucky.
laughter democracy force
Laughter is a force for democracy.
thinking people comedian
I think the hard thing for young comedians is that the majority of the young people in the audience out there don't have the wide range of references.
exquisite ought
Don't let anyone tell you what you ought to like...
creativity intelligent levels
Creativity is not an ability that you either have or do not have. It is, for example, and this may surprise you, absolutely unrelated to IQ, provided you're intelligent above a certain minimal level.
mistake creative may
While you're being creative, nothing is wrong. There's no such thing as a mistake, and any drivel may lead to the breakthrough.
long giving mind
Give your mind as long as possible to come up with something original.
real light order
The real religion is about the understanding that if we can only still our egos for a few seconds, we might have a chance of experiencing something that is divine in nature. But in order to do that, we have to slice away at our egos and try to get them down to a manageable size, and then still work some practiced light meditation. So real religion is about reducing our egos, whereas all the churches are interested in is egotistical activities, like getting as many members and raising as much money and becoming as important and high-profile and influential as possible.