John Slattery

“When I first started, I was kind of surprised that anyone would ever hire me at all. So I took everything that I was offered.”

“I have met Tom Hanks. Several times. And he's been very nice.”

“I've never directed anything before 'Mad Men,' so I don't feel I have any advice for the other directors.”

“Let's face it, making movies is all risk. Most of the time, batting average-wise, the reward does not outweigh the risk.”

“I was a horrible limo driver: I ran out of gas with passengers in the back and I used to get lost on a regular basis.”

“כל המהפכה התרבותית התרחשה בסוף שנות השישים. החברה שלנו השתנתה ויזואלית, עברה מעידן של אחרי מלחמה לעידן שחוגג את הצעירים. ומה יותר טוב מאשר להראות את הכול דרך עיניים של חברת פרסום, שאומרת לקהל חסר סיפוק מה הוא צריך בשביל להיות מאושר בחיים?”

“הבימוי עוזר מאוד למשחק, כי זה מוריד קצת את הלחץ, כשאתה יודע כמה טובים העורכים. הם כבר יגרמו לזה לעבוד.”

“שיחקתי בסדרות שבהן אנשי צוות מגיעים לעבודה מבלי שקראו תסריט, ואנשים שמעבירים את היום רק בשביל לקבל כסף.”

“On 'Mad Men,' I have a bit of an advantage because I know who gets better as they repeat a scene and who's best at the beginning.”

“You put a movie star or a bunch of movie stars in a movie, it doesn't mean people are gonna go see it. It's been proven time and time again.”

“I think I gravitate towards people who express themselves in a simple and funny way.”

“For some reason surfing... I'm not scared of the ocean so the risk doesn't seem as great to me.”

“I like to try the scene over and over, but given the confines of television, I don't have that option.”

“Characters can become boring. That's what's tricky about television. It goes on and on - you're playing this same character for five seasons and it gets easy to fall into just walking on the set and assuming you know how to play a scene.”

“I guess, you make a big studio film, you spend a lot of money on it and you hope people go see it. It's really risky.”

“Memories are just stories we tell ourselves about our past; and that's often why they don't match when we've shared the same experiences with someone.”

“I've done a lot of pilots. A lot of shows. You're young and you do a job just because you know someone gave you a job.”

“Viewers can hate a character and at the same time can't take their eyes off of him.”

“You learn pretty quickly: if you fall in love with your edit, you're bound to be heartbroken because it will all be re-cut.”

“I think the moments that are difficult for anybody are when you see what your life could be, if only you had the courage to take the steps needed.”