Chris Elliott (Actor)

"Dave would see us doing something at the coffee machine, and it would end up on The Show, I used to go out on the remotes and stand there saying stupid things to him. I was his little amusement boy." --Elliot on his early days with David Letterman, from Village Voice, February 1, 1994.

"I'm a guy who has kind of cut my own niche in this business. It's never just 'let's get somebody funny for this part' or 'who is available?' When people want me for a part, they are looking for me--which is nice. It might not happen that often, but I know when it does they really want me." --Elliott quoted in USA Today, February 10, 2000.

"I'm on that level of fame where if I disappeared off the face of the earth, there wouldn't be much talk on 'Entertainment Tonight' about it. And that's probably the level of fame where I will most likely spend the rest of my life." --Chris Elliott to Us, August 21, 1989.

"My comedy has always been stupid and goofy, and that's always been the intent behind it. You're talking comedy, so stupid to me evokes a funny image. It's not negative." --Elliott quoted in Daily News, January 6, 1994.

Salon scribe Connell Barrett on Elliott versus perceived comis genius Andy Kaufman: "While Kaufman has been resurrected in film, books and 12,000 magazines as a mad comedic savant, Elliott--he of 'Late Night with David Letterman" and "Get a Life" fame--is, well, the voice of Dogbert, an ignominious fate for a performer who is every bit as innovative, bold and bafflingly odd. And funnier . . . Like his comedic forefather, Elliott eschewed jokes in favor of joking around. He walked (nay, banana-danced upon) the line between comedy and performance art. And long before they recorded "Man on the Moon", R.E.M.'s "Stand" stood as the theme to "Get a Life!" Elliott must be a genius; Michael Stipe says so." --from the article "The Other Man on the Moon", February 8, 2000.

Answering a query from Entertainment Weekly (February 5, 1999) if he was upset when James Cameron (who directed Elliott in "The Abyss") cast Leonaro DiCaprio in "Titanic": "No, I wasn't, because I gave James Cameron the idea for 'Titanic'. When I did 'The Abyss', I said to him 'What would be good would be to do a comedy on the high seas.' He went and did 'Titanic', I did 'Cabin Boy'."

Chris Elliott on his "Late Night with David Letterman" appearances: "It was all about ego. He was this staff member who thought he was due a career and forced himself on the show to get it. And the weird thing is that ultimately, that's exactly what happened to me. Somehow, just by continually pestering the general public by appearing on television, they accepted me and wanted more. And then, of course, I had to give them something else, and they were like, 'Ugh, enough!'" --quoted to Time Out New York, July 9-16, 1998.

Elliott on Dom, his dermatologically-challenged character in "There's Something About Mary": "I actually thought of the [hives] makeup. I wanted something bizarre, and also, it hides the fact that I'm not a very good actor." --quoted in Us, January 1999.

Elliott on his on screen alter ego: "Anything I do, it's always Chris Elliott. He may be called different things but it's always the same guy.

"It's really just a matter of finding a palatable way to present that character to the public." -- to Daily News, February 9, 2000.

On the showbiz legacy of his father, comedian Bob Elliott: "He wasn't exactly anti-show business, but he made a conscious decision not to move to the West Coast, not to get into movies and television.

"I think I inherited a kind of embarrassment with the whole idea of show business. Part of my act has always been not to take it too seriously." --quoted in the New York Post, February 7, 2000.