Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. During the group's hiatus, Timberlake released his debut solo album, the R&B-focused Justified,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth31 January 1981
CityMemphis, TN
CountryUnited States of America
I was very shy as a kid but when I found out I could perform and have people's attention everything changed for me. My mom likes to joke that until I was eight or nine I only knew what my sneakers looked like because I constantly walked around with my head down. But all of a sudden the stage made sense and that's what brought me out of my shell and a monster was created.
Performing onstage is all about reacting in a grand way. You're playing an arena of seventeen or eighteen thousand people and it's your job to make sure the person at the back feels as cool as the person all the way in the front. Being on stage is a bit of a façade. You get to walk out there and be the coolest version of yourself that you could possibly have imagined and then you come off stage and you're just like everyone else.
To me acting is a hobby and I'm inspired by it. And if I'm going to spend time doing something that I'm not really inspired to do, then why am I doing it? I don't know if that sounds sort of new agey or whatever, but it's true. I've been lucky enough to have a musical career that has gone pretty good and acting is something I have always wanted to do.
I grew up in Tennessee where you either play football or you don't do anything at all. So I was a bit of loner, being interested in music.
As an actor, it's your job to find the way to play a character. I think you can latch on to some things that might have happened.
I'm not a comedian so I'll probably get crucified for saying this, but I think with a lot of comedy the impetus behind it is: I've been rejected so many times and I'm bitter and now I'm going to talk about it.
I think my style is kind of a cross between a skater hippie and an R&B star. If there were something I was going to endorse, it would probably be something like sneakers. Something that would be me.
The teachers that we actually learn more from are the ones that taught us life lessons more than trigonometry. And they have such a huge responsibility and they're under-appreciated and underpaid. So that's my opinion of teachers.
We gotta figure out a way to pay our teachers more. They're like surrogate parents away from home. They have such a huge responsibility and they're underappreciated and underpaid.
I sort of dreamed about directing before my career as an actor took off. I've directed stage before in so many capacities on tours. I put that together. You have to. Otherwise, it's your statement. It's your voice, and that has to come through.
...We're people and we're different, all of us. And we should be using our differences to bring ourselves closer together. You know? Not be afraid of something that we don't know. ... It's unfortunate that things take a while to progress like this, but it was a great, great victory for equality. I'm proud New York has the balls to stand up for what's right.
When I'm in the studio, there are no boundaries.
I know what it takes to put on a good show for the fans.
I pick my nose and I'm not ashamed to admit it. If there's a bogey then just pick it, man.