“I don’t think people are experiencing superhero fatigue. Do you hear people complaining that there are too many action movies? I think it’s good entertainment.”
― Michael Pena
“Regardless of whatever job you do, you want to see the importance of it or how it can be important. I think by inspiring the people that I come from – if I inspire anyone – would be worth it.”
― Michael Pena
“You have to work on your own thing. You have to work on yourself, and you have to bring something to the game.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ve always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.”
― Michael Pena
“I didn’t realise I lived in the ghetto until we moved out.”
― Michael Pena
“I remember my seventh-grade chemistry teacher told me I’d never amount to anything. I thought, ‘Hmm. OK.’ That gave me motivation to prove her wrong.”
― Michael Pena
“Play the role as a human being… human beings are three-dimensional.”
― Michael Pena
“There’s an immigration problem in every country that has money, in that people there have a problem with immigration.”
― Michael Pena
“It’s so interesting to watch Ben Stiller work because he just knows what’s funny.”
― Michael Pena
“A good comic explores the imagination, but it’s always got to have those notes of truth running through it.”
― Michael Pena
“My first ten years in Hollywood were really tough. I’d be coaching friends who came to me for acting advice, and then they’d make it before I did. I’d still be helping them while they were on movie sets and I had four lines on a TV show.”
― Michael Pena
“I feel lucky. I feel blessed. If you get blessed with some ability, I think you have to work hard at it. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he wasn’t the best shooter, even though he had the skill, and he had to work and work at it.”
― Michael Pena
“I never wanted to be in a gang. I didn’t want to follow anybody’s orders.”
― Michael Pena
“As a kid growing up in Chicago, I’ve been shot at before. I remember I very calmly went down on the ground. Afterwards, you’re like, ‘Omigod.’ You just don’t have time to think.”
― Michael Pena
“It feels good, pouring your heart out over something, and then all of a sudden people are getting inspired.”
― Michael Pena
“Some horror movies are just for shock value, so it doesn’t really feel scary.”
― Michael Pena
“I used to love those movies, back in the day, like ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ ‘Friday the 13th,’ ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Shining.’ I really liked those kind of movies, and I wanted to be a part of one of those kinds of movies.”
― Michael Pena
“I came to L.A. when I was 19, and my two roommates were blue-eyed, blond dudes. I helped coach them, and they both landed pilots.”
― Michael Pena
“I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked.”
― Michael Pena
“I guess people recognize me, but I’m not a household name. Two out of every five people who come up to me know my name. The one thing I don’t want is to be followed by paparazzi.”
― Michael Pena
“I used to tour with this band. I was a drummer. I would tour a bunch for about 10 months out of the year and act for about two months. I would make what I needed from acting and would stretch it out.”
― Michael Pena
“I want to do more sci-fi films. I want to play half-alien, half-illegal alien.”
― Michael Pena
“I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.”
― Michael Pena
“I’m just an actor. If it’s drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it’s a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don’t wanna be too serious.”
― Michael Pena
“The joy of ‘Crash’ was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. ‘Crash’ was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette of my own. It really meant something.”
― Michael Pena
“Kicks to the legs, they’re not very cool. They’re brutal.”
― Michael Pena
“When I was a kid, I lived in a poor part of Chicago, and I remember my brother and me using towels as capes. My son does it, too.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ve been seeing superhero movies as long as I can remember. I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”
― Michael Pena
“I remember seeing ‘Dead Poet’s Society,’ and it made it appealing in a way that I actually went to prep school.”
― Michael Pena
“It would be great to play Cesar Chavez. That would be an interesting role for me.”
― Michael Pena
“Actors love the big speeches and love to be the center of attention. I mean, that’s why we do it.”
― Michael Pena
“When I started wrestling, I sucked. I hated losing, so I started doing pushups and more squats, and then I did summer wrestling and learned different styles.”
― Michael Pena
“I was a quiet kid – I didn’t think I needed to be the funniest guy. I was always more of a listener. I went to 12 different schools, and I wasn’t the charismatic dude, but I was captain of the track team and wrestling team.”
― Michael Pena
“I thought of myself as an individual ever since I was little.”
― Michael Pena
“I grew up in the ghetto, and the thing is when there were problems, I knew when to get away.”
― Michael Pena
“Marvel just does things differently.”
― Michael Pena
“’Spider-Man’ seems to have a different tone to the pure Marvel stuff, but I really enjoyed the ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ and ‘Iron Man’ movies. I love the special effects and how it seems very real, but at the same time, it still lives within the realm of Marvel. That’s got to be a lot of work.”
― Michael Pena
“I usually just try to do whatever’s on the page because I’ve done research before – including a lot of analysis – but you end up with conflicting data. To me, the script is king.”
― Michael Pena
“I wouldn’t say I have comedy chops. I guess you get lucky with good writing because I don’t think I’m a comedian by any stretch of the imagination.”
― Michael Pena
“Paul Rudd has a very specific brand of humor.”
― Michael Pena
“There’s a bigger percentage of good cops than bad cops. But the bad cops should be penalised like regular people.”
― Michael Pena
“A lot of Americans don’t really leave the country.”
― Michael Pena
“Every time I said, ‘Man, I’m doing CHiPs,’ 100% of the time they would ask, ‘Is Erik Estrada going to be in it?’”
― Michael Pena
“When I did ‘Crash,’ to be honest with you, it was just another acting job. I just wanted to do as good as I possibly could.”
― Michael Pena
“When I watch movies with my kid like ‘Shrek,’ I’m like, ‘Wow, this is pretty funny.’ That’s why I wanted to start doing movies like that – so my kid would laugh at my jokes.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ll do anything to make my kid laugh.”
― Michael Pena
“I remember I used to think my dad was really cool working at a factory. He used to make buttons. I used to brag, ‘This button here, My dad made it.’ There was this sense of pride. It’s knowing your dad is doing something cool.”
― Michael Pena
“We all want approval.”
― Michael Pena
“I think about where I grew up and how I grew up: my dad was making $25,000 a year. Taking a chance wasn’t really taking a chance. It was like you were going for something better. To me, there wasn’t that much risk involved.”
― Michael Pena
“I was in L.A., like, four months, and I got my first part. Then I was like, ‘OK, I’m staying.’”
― Michael Pena
“There are not too many times when a movie’s not cynical, you know what I mean?”
― Michael Pena
“You have to make your choices however you see fit and just keep your integrity as best you can.”
― Michael Pena
“I think, in any debate, you have to respect the other person’s point of view, if you agree or disagree.”
― Michael Pena
“For me, when I do my best acting, it’s mainly imagination. Then I really have a lot of fun with it.”
― Michael Pena
“The reality that everyone is stereotyped – every one gets typecast, so you have to work to get out of that.”
― Michael Pena
“I am not afraid to play Latin roles – that was a big part of my life.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ve been an actor for 20 years, and I think the first 14 years, it was all struggling. At first, it was all gangsters.”
― Michael Pena
“You can think you know somebody. But when they’re trying to punch you in the face, you really know somebody. You learn their tendencies.”
― Michael Pena
“There’s a certain weird something. I’m always nervous when I spar. You learn it’s going to hurt, but it’s only going to hurt for a little bit. It brings out the animal in you to an extent. You learn what you can take.”
― Michael Pena
“There are certain people you don’t have to worry about on set.”
― Michael Pena
“A shootout is a shootout. You go in and get the bad guys.”
― Michael Pena
“I’m an American, and I live pretty well. But go down to Mexico, and a lot of people really don’t. So what, we’re going to blame them for trying to get out?”
― Michael Pena
“I’m into looking at things from the other point of view. And if you look at who votes in the Oscars, mostly older Jewish guys, they’re going to vote for stuff they relate to. Do they relate to NWA? I doubt it.”
― Michael Pena
“What’s funny isn’t really me. What I do is point out what I find funny in others.”
― Michael Pena
“All the guys at Marvel are really passionate, and they love entertaining folks, and they really think about the story, and there’s a lot of thought that goes into that.”
― Michael Pena
“My understanding, when I think of immigration, is like… you know, this country was built on immigrants: the German, the Polish, the Italian, the Jewish, the Russians, the Eastern Europeans. So, all these people came in, and I don’t know who decided like, ‘No, that’s it! There’s a cap on it! No more people.’”
― Michael Pena
“You know, one of my favorite movies that inspired me and got me started was ‘Dead Poet’s Society.’”
― Michael Pena
“I went to a prep school in Chicago, and my dad and mom worked really hard – even though we lived in the ghetto – to get me to there. A lot of it had to do with ‘Stand and Deliver’ and ‘Dead Poet’s Society.’ It does help you. It inspires you. It definitely did for me.”
― Michael Pena
“’War on Everyone,’ I think… the script was hilarious to me, but it’s very dark, dark humor. It’s super dark.”
― Michael Pena
“Drama is basically what I do, so it’s a compliment that people think it’s hard for me to get back to drama.”
― Michael Pena
“One of my favorite movies is ‘Broadway Danny Rose.’”
― Michael Pena
“I’d love to work with Woody Allen.”
― Michael Pena
“’End of Watch’ was 98-percent written, and I work really hard to make it look like it’s the first time I’m saying it.”
― Michael Pena
“I loved WWF as a kid.”
― Michael Pena
“The reason I love Lollapalooza is because it’s a great music festival.”
― Michael Pena
“I used to live off of nothing.”
― Michael Pena
“Sometimes it’s good to be naive.”
― Michael Pena
“When you finish a drama, you go, ‘I can’t wait to do a comedy.’ When you finish a comedy, you go, ‘I want to do a dramedy, dark humor.’”
― Michael Pena
“I’m super grateful, and whenever somebody offers me something, and I’m doing it, I always try to give 110%.”
― Michael Pena
“Seth Rogen told me to read ‘Preacher,’ and ‘Preacher’ was amazing.”
― Michael Pena
“I didn’t know too much about ‘Ant-Man.’”
― Michael Pena
“I don’t know about you, but for me, if I got to present any kind of award, I’m shaking in my pants.”
― Michael Pena
“I was in really good shape after I finished this movie, ‘End of Watch.’”
― Michael Pena
“My brother and my father both got laid off around the same that I was starting to do this movie ‘Chavez.’ And at the same time, it was when all the bailouts were happening.”
― Michael Pena
“I just wanted to be a part of something that’s a horror movie that scares you.”
― Michael Pena
“I usually joke around, especially on set.”
― Michael Pena
“I’m living in Hollywood, and I’m making movies, but it goes beyond me. If my family is not doing very well, or even OK, you want them to be better.”
― Michael Pena
“I want to find my own rhythm and style. That’s probably the harder way to approach it, but I think it will pay off in the long run.”
― Michael Pena
“Some of my favorite actors are Gene Wilder and Eddie Murphy back in the day – that’s mainly what me and my brothers watched when we were kids.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ve tested for I-don’t-know-how-many pilots, and I didn’t get any of them. I would always try to go off the top and make it as spontaneous as possible, but acting in sitcoms is such a skill set, and I didn’t have it. I wish I did back when I was younger.”
― Michael Pena
“The only time that I really go on Twitter is to promote, because what sucks is there’s some weird trolling going around. Even if you are well-intentioned, there’s some mean people behind a keyboard.”
― Michael Pena
“A good director is like a good coach. You want to play for him. You want to really show him your good stuff. You don’t want to let that person down. Ridley Scott is one of those guys.”
― Michael Pena
“Every script always goes through rewrites so that everyone loves it.”
― Michael Pena
“I don’t know why – I have a ton of books: five full cabinets of them.”
― Michael Pena
“I saw Gosling just kill it in ‘Blue Valentine.’ I thought he was just amazing at that, and I wouldn’t mind maybe doing something like that.”
― Michael Pena
“’Tower Heist?’ That is a movie that it’s hard not to name-drop, but, it’s a crew of five, and it’s Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, me, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck. And we’re like, on a heist.”
― Michael Pena
“I’ll read, like, ten scripts, and then sometimes if I’m lucky, there will be two or three scripts that I like, and sometimes they’ll all be dramas, or they’ll all be comedies, or there will be two dramas and a comedy, and then I’ll go for whatever. If I have to audition, I’ll audition. If it’s an offer, great.”
― Michael Pena
“I have really good managers and agents who are very selective in what they send me.”
― Michael Pena
“I’m envious of writers.”
― Michael Pena
“There’s something about coming up with something out of nothing. I work with somebody else’s creation already, and I just try to make it better.”
― Michael Pena
“I’m clearly not a writer, but I’m always a fan of them.”
― Michael Pena
“I was on ‘The Shield’ for a year before ‘Crash’ came out, and it was like doing an independent film every week.”
― Michael Pena
“One of my first real parts was ‘Crash’ – that won the Oscar.”
― Michael Pena
“When I first set out to do it, I wanted to be a working actor, and now it seems like it’s superseded even my dreams.”
― Michael Pena
“It was an event whenever ‘CHiPs’ would come on in my house. There wasn’t a lot of Latin people being hired to star in TV shows or movies back in the day. Not only was it a fun show, there was a Latino starring in it – so we thought it was extra cool.”
― Michael Pena
“I don’t know if I’m necessarily a role model, but hopefully I can inspire any artist – Latin or otherwise – to do this thing for a living.”
― Michael Pena
“Some of the best bad guys in movies are funny and charming.”
― Michael Pena
“I want to become more successful.”
― Michael Pena
“I think nerves stop you from doing things. Make you stop and maybe make you withdraw. Then there’s excitement where you can’t wait to do it.”
― Michael Pena
“I feel really comfortable with going for the reality of the drama, but I’m not much for the comedy of it. You have to make people laugh, or you have to be true to the character in such a way that makes people laugh. It’s a whole different thing.”
― Michael Pena
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