James Wolk Quotations

Acting is great. It's so much fun. It's a job where you literally get to do something that's a great experience, and then you try a new experience, and you take things from all of it.

Honestly, it's the luck of the draw. If you are comfortable with the actor that you're opposite of - it just breaks down a lot of those insecurities and you can just say, "Okay, I trust this person, and I respect them and know they respect me," and then you can just go with it. When that doesn't exist, it's a lot harder to let go.

As an actor, that's the most important thing. You want to be able to let go and not hold onto anything, so that you can give an honest portrayal and performance.

I can definitely tell you what viewers can expect from Season 2 [of 'Zoo']. It picks up right where Season 1 left off - the gang facing this wall of animals charging at a car. And so, it'll be satisfying in that way. The cliffhanger in Season 1 just kind of went to black screen. It picks up right where that left off. And from there on, the stakes just continue to rise in the season, and I think it's really adrenaline-filled.

Getting a second thing isn't always easy in this busy, competitive television market.

I'm also not an avid watcher of the show ['Walking Dead'] for no good reason. I think it's obviously a great show. I think it's a good comparison [to "Zoo"], because it is this apocalyptic world we're living in Season 2 of "Zoo."

What's been exciting for me is to read the scripts.

Birds always seem like they're swooping down on you.

My dad used to put me in front of the TV screen and made me watch old Jimmy Durante and Dean Martin movies. I just always loved entertainment.

Often in television, you read a script and you're amazed that you get the scene given to you.

I have a dog. I'm a dog lover.

I just grew up loving acting and loving entertainment.

No one ever judges their own self.

There's a film I did called 'Front of the Class', about a teacher who had Tourette's. That was a beautiful blend of drama and comedy. There's some great moments of levity in the script.

I worked in television now for a few years. I think summer has become a really exciting time for television shows. And I think it's become a time for shows to distinguish themselves.

I always feel like hard work leads the way, and from there, I leave it up to the powers that be.

In my everyday life, I'm a jeans and button-up shirt kind of guy.

In Michigan, if you want to act, it's local theater, it's high school theater and it's going to camp and putting on plays in the summer, and I always loved doing that. There was something that just drew me to it.

I'm not a network executive, but it seems to be a time when networks take more of a gamble with higher-concept shows. And so, it's fun to be on something that's original, that's finding viewership, that's finding a great audience, and really distinguishing itself. Summer's a great place to do that.

There's a certain rhythm to comedy that is almost like you're dancing and you just go on autopilot, so to speak. There's something just beautifully enjoyable about comedy in that respect. It's a joy to be able to do that. Drama, you get to go to depths that you haven't gone to before.

When you feel moved by the story, you want to tell that story.

When I was young, my parents made me listen to old music and watch Jimmy Durante. I fell in love with the whole mystique of acting and entertainment.

In a great play or a great film, there's a rehearsal period and they find this character. On TV, everything moves fast.

You can find old Jewish newspapers from Detroit that have my promotional ad in them. It was a totally insane time in my life. Paul Rudd was also a bar mitzvah emcee, you know? It was like being a local rock star in Detroit.

I think you always want to be open to things... it's just the matter of finding something I believe in, finding a character I believe in, and I think that's the way it should always be. I'm looking for things that excite me.

Anytime you get to join a group of people you admire and respect, you want to keep those doors open.

I had just finished working on a play, and we started to talk to the 'Happy Endings' folks. There was interest from both sides, which was exciting, because I thought it was very fresh. Adam Pally's just a really funny, talented dude. I thought I'd be great to jump on and do some comedy.

I emceed in metro Detroit throughout college, and even when I moved to New York, I would actually fly back on a Friday, emcee on a Saturday, and fly back on Sunday so that I could audition during the week. It was a big part of my life.

My mom is an art teacher and my dad owns a women's shoe store, so they're not actors by any means. Well, I guess to sell women's shoes, you have to be an actor.

As an actor, you're tied to the writing. You live and die by what's written for you. And you can elevate that to a certain extent, but really, that's your blueprint.

I started in theater. I would liken sitcom work more to theater work than I would, perhaps, to dramatic television. It's so quick. It kind of feels like the pace of a play.

I try to stay away from the more schmaltzy side of things. That can backfire quickly.

I personally am not a shorts-wearing guy. That goes for any form of shorts, beside sports shorts, that I have to wear.

The 'Lone Star' experience was tough at the time, but it really allowed me to look at things from a 3,000-foot high view. You can think something is the greatest thing in the world, but, as we know, anything can happen. It really taught me that I always want to make choices that I believe in artistically. No one can take that away from you.