I play out negative fantasies for people. I’m the guy people love to hate. And they always remember the bad guy.

Meaning of the quote

In this quote, the actor Brion James is describing his role as the "bad guy" in movies. He explains that he acts out the negative and villainous parts that people enjoy watching, even though they don't like the character. Audiences often remember the bad guys the most because they make a strong impression, even if they are not the main character. The actor seems to embrace this type of role, understanding that people are drawn to the antagonists in stories.

About Brion James

Brion Howard James was an American character actor who is best known for his roles in films like Blade Runner, Southern Comfort, and The Fifth Element. He was frequently cast as an antagonist in lower-budget horror and action movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in over 100 films before his untimely death at the age of 54.

More about the author

More quotes from Brion James

I still do television. I don’t care. I just want to work. I love to work. I want to do 500 movies.

Brion James

American actor

I never play a villain that I don’t have something I can either do or say so the audience sees there is something redeemable about them. In other words, I don’t want to do evil for evil’s sake. I don’t want to do Jason slasher movies. There’s no point in that.

Brion James

American actor

Westerns was why I got into the business. I grew up on a small farm in California and all I ever wanted to do was to play gangsters and cowboys in movies.

Brion James

American actor

The bad guys are the best parts.

Brion James

American actor

In the ’70s, everybody was doing drugs, so long as you showed up and did your work, they’d use you until you died.

Brion James

American actor

I did 125 films, and over 100 television shows, and you’ve never seen the same character twice.

Brion James

American actor

The best thing about Sci-Fi, which is my favorite genre, is that there are no rules for behavior. So you can do anything you want.

Brion James

American actor

My dad had a movie theater so I was there every night.

Brion James

American actor

Producing is nothing more than bringing all the elements together, connecting people.

Brion James

American actor

The interesting part of the process is developing the character, you know, why did he become that? Why is the guy a murderer, or why is this guy a pervert, or whatever he is. So that’s the fun part for me to delve into the abyss.

Brion James

American actor

Blade Runner helped make my career. Everybody was in it. Who knew?

Brion James

American actor

I prayed to God for help and I put myself in a recovery house called Studio 12. It was for people in the business and you didn’t have to have any money to go, which was good because I was broke.

Brion James

American actor

Since very early in my career, I have always did my own stunt fighting.

Brion James

American actor

You never know what show is going to change your life.

Brion James

American actor

I couldn’t say no to jobs and I couldn’t say no to drugs. I’d get high from a movie, I’d be somebody else because I didn’t particularly like me, so long as I had a script in my hand, I was okay. As soon as the movie was over, I didn’t know what to do.

Brion James

American actor

I’m big and a lot of the stars are smaller so if you’re big and mean looking, you play bad guys. After Blade Runner, I was the meanest guy in Hollywood.

Brion James

American actor

I liked the drama of getting stoned.

Brion James

American actor

I’m a character actor, so I don’t take the hit if the movie’s bad, the lead does. So, I don’t want to be the lead. He takes the hit, I don’t.

Brion James

American actor

I’ve never considered myself a leading man, don’t look like one, don’t want to be one.

Brion James

American actor

I could talk about Blade Runner forever.

Brion James

American actor

I’m a parrot. I can pick up an accent and just do it.

Brion James

American actor

Larry Kasdan is a great director.

Brion James

American actor

I play out negative fantasies for people. I’m the guy people love to hate. And they always remember the bad guy.

Brion James

American actor

You know, stand-up comedy is where I pretty much started out.

Brion James

American actor

My whole deal when I do accents or dialects is I gotta fool the locals. If I fool the locals then I’ve done my job.

Brion James

American actor

Work begets work.

Brion James

American actor

I was a different kind of kid, oversensitive and all that.

Brion James

American actor