Steve Martin

Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martinis an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. Since the 1980s, having branched away from stand-up comedy, Martin has become a successful actor, as well as an author, playwright, pianist and banjo player,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth14 August 1945
CountryUnited States of America
I studied with the Maharishi for many years, and really didn't learn that much. But one thing that he taught me, I'll never forget: 'ALWAYS...' no, wait-- 'NEVER...' no, wait, it was 'ALWAYS carry a litter bag in your car. It doesn't take up much room, and if it gets full, you can toss it out the window.'
First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.
Your only guidepost is your own instinct and judicious editing. In my stand-up act I learned that in the first 10 minutes I could say anything and it would get a laugh. Then I'd better deliver. In the movie it's the same thing. You get a lot of laughs when people first sit down and then the story better kick in. Many years in front of an audience, I would hope, give me a sense of what works.
I just downloaded eleven hundred books onto my Kindle, and now I can’t lift it.
I have found that-- just as in real life--imagination sometimes has to stand in for experience.
It's pain that changes our lives.
I didn't come from a wealthy family. I had no money. Maybe it goes back to naivete which is your greatest asset when you're young. If I was starting in comedy today and if it didn't work the first time, I'd probably quit. But I kept at it, kept at it.
She had destroyed whatever was between us by making a profound gaffe: She met me.
Always make room for the unexpected in yourself.
So much emotion can be brought in an animated film that's very hard to get in a live-action film. I haven't quite put my finger on why, but it might be because the characters can make facial expression that, if you made them in a movie, they'd call them corny.
The greatest thing you can do is surprise yourself.
Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do.
All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.
The banjo is such a happy instrument--you can't play a sad song on the banjo - it always comes out so cheerful.