Bob Odenkirk quotes:

I think that cable TV is a great venue to do something interesting.

I pretty much live about 10 minutes from my office. I have two kids, and I have about 8 projects that I'm working on, so I basically just get up and go to work, and go home every night and play with my kids, so I don't really know.

If you're committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it.

Being comedic is a skill, because there is a fine line where the context is important. And being dramatic is just being honest and real in that moment.

My daughter got me a 'World's Best Dad' mug. So we know she's sarcastic.

I'm about to go to Sundance for my 3rd year, and Sundance has never felt like a real independent festival at all. On the other hand, it might to start feel that way.

It's dangerous to get calm. You need some nerves to work from, it's good energy. It's not good to have no nerves. You'd fall asleep on stage.

Comedy is tragedy plus timing.

Everybody needs some good sketch comedy.

In the end, the thing that really stays with you is not that you were clever enough to connect a sketch to another sketch, but what really sticks with you is when you just have an incredible moment happen, or execute a really funny idea.

I've always tried to have a rule that you shouldn't make fun of innocent people who can't defend themselves. I find that a little unseemly and distasteful. But nothing's really sacred to me.

Even if people end up doing awful things, you can empathize with their motives when you know them. When you get to know the person, you can understand why they make those choices, even if they're bad. And oftentimes people do have good drives that are sympathetic and can even be seen as selfless and good-hearted.

David and I got cut out the editing process on that. We were able to affect it more than not. We sent in our notes, we were able to see cuts. We weren't allowed to see dailies and we weren't allowed to sit in the editing room and just work.

It's nice that the independent scene is taken seriously, and has been.

When you're 20 you can put a ton of old-age prosthetics on and be an old guy, but when you're 70 you can't play a 20-year-old.

The alternative scene, for a couple years now, has been taken seriously and that's a cool thing. I don't think it's exploded or anything, but I think it's pretty cool that it still exists, it's still affecting people.

My goal, whenever entering a project, is always to gain 12 pounds.

We're all real people with moments of intense honesty and pathos and humanity. We all experience that, whether you're comedic or not.

You say you're going to be the pope, become the pope.

We don't feel constrained by what we did in the past.

Don't say you're going to stop eating red meat when you like red meat.

It's fun to discover things. I wouldn't want everything laid out, simply and too obviously.

The laugh is what trumps everything.

If you surround me with darkness, suddenly, I am "somewhat fun."

Comedy can be destructive, and still very, very funny. But if I can do something that is fun to watch and critical of the world but not wantonly destructive, I pursue those [kinds of] ideas more.

I don't think the sketch on its own is a great sketch.

The world needs less destruction.

I felt my personal life was not what it should be. It had nothing to do with Mr. Show - I'm monstrously appreciative and understand what it did for me and to me - but after four years, I just felt like I needed to do something else. I guess I wanted to be in a different place, physically.

You shouldn't eat red meat, but you shouldn't make resolutions you can't keep.

I think independent movies are actually very challenging right now, because it was this huge scene and it was great for a few years. Then, it was totally co-opted by the studios. Now, it's become very corporate, the independent scene.

I actually think there's a potential, a crazy potential, that network TV could become something valuable and worthwhile, just because of fear on the part of the networks.

I think everybody has a public persona. We all present ourselves.

I think that acting is no fun unless it's hard. I'm not titillated by acting or being an actor unless I have to work hard.

My godfather was a Chicago policeman, and I've always looked at law enforcement as a challenging and interesting job.

Drama is more focused and it reveals itself to you, whereas comedy is just right there, when you first read it.

I love any scene where there's a physical confrontation. It reminds me that I'm in show business and I play pretend for a living.