Alan Arkin (Actor)

"Actually, I don't even think I was funny once before I got to Second City. I don't know why they hired me. It was months before I did anything that was remotely humorous. I found one character that worked, and kept playing him over and over. But on weekends we would work four or five hours a night and play 50, 60 characters, improvising, doing set pieces. And that kind of experience is invaluable." - Arkin in Premiere Magazine, November 1995

"Alan's never had an identifiable screen personality because he just disappears into his characters. His acents are impeccable, and he's even able to change his look - but oddly enough, this gift has worked against him. He's always been underestimated, partly because he's never been in service of his own success, which is one of the things I love about him. Alan's just so cool!" - Norman Jewison to The Los Angeles Times, Jan. 25, 1998

"I used to have a lot of philosophies of acting; they all fell apart over the years." - Arkin to Esquire Magazine, January 2007

As a founding member of the folk group The Tarriers, Arkin co-wrote "The Banana Boat Song" ("Day-o"), which later became a signature hit for Harry Belafonte.