A biography for Michael Penahasn’t been written yet.
“We all want approval.”
“Play the role as a human being... human beings are three-dimensional.”
“I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.”
“I think writing is the most underrated thing in Hollywood.”
“I was on 'The Shield' for a year before 'Crash' came out, and it was like doing an independent film every week.”
“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?”
“I grew up in the ghetto, and the thing is when there were problems, I knew when to get away.”
“I didn't realise I lived in the ghetto until we moved out.”
“I have really good managers and agents who are very selective in what they send me.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Kicks to the legs, they're not very cool. They're brutal.”
“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.”
“I remember seeing 'Dead Poet's Society,' and it made it appealing in a way that I actually went to prep school.”
“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.”
“Sometimes it's good to be naive.”
“Every script always goes through rewrites so that everyone loves it.”