Dana Carvey Quotes

Powerful Dana Carvey for Daily Growth

About Dana Carvey

Dana Thomas Carvey, born on June 2, 1955, in Missoula, Montana, is a renowned American actor, comedian, and writer, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) during the 1990s. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Carvey developed an interest in comedy at an early age. He honed his skills in various comedy clubs and improvisational theaters before landing a role on SNL in 1986. During his tenure, he created memorable characters such as Garth Algar (with Wayne Campbell, played by Mike Myers), Church Lady, and Mars Attacks President James Dale. Carvey's success on SNL led to a successful film career, including starring roles in "Wayne's World" (1992) and its sequel "Wayne's World 2" (1993), "Trading Places" (1983), and "Clean Slate" (1994). He also voiced the character of Lieutenant Commander Jon Arbuckle in the "Garfield: The Movie" series. In addition to his acting roles, Carvey has made guest appearances on several television shows, including "30 Rock," for which he won an Emmy Award in 2009. He also released a stand-up comedy album, "Crank It Up" (1996), and wrote a memoir titled "Still Getting Ahead in Hollywood Without Getting Dressed: An Uninhibited Memoir of a Slightly Dysfunctional Career" (2018). Carvey's comedy often revolves around satire, parody, and deadpan delivery, making him one of the most influential figures in contemporary American comedy. His unique style has inspired countless comedians and continues to shape the comedy landscape today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I have a rule no matter what happens: I never swear at children and animals. And a lot of times, I'm swearing at animals."

Dana Carvey's quote expresses his respect for children and animals by setting a personal rule not to curse in their presence. He humorously suggests that his frustration sometimes leads him to swear, but due to this rule, he often finds himself swearing at animals instead, indicating the depth of his empathy for kids and pets.


"When you're on Saturday Night Live, every once in a while, if you're lucky, you catch lightning in a bottle."

This quote implies that when working on Saturday Night Live (SNL), there are moments of extraordinary success or creativity, where the team manages to perfectly capture humor, charm, or cultural zeitgeist, often referred to as "caught lightning in a bottle." It's suggesting that these magical instances do not occur frequently but can happen if one is fortunate enough.


"I've been lucky. When you do something and it's really funny, you get the chance to do more of it."

The quote suggests that success in humor, like any creative endeavor, often depends on luck. If one's work (in this case, comedy) is genuinely funny, it can lead to opportunities for further expression and development of their talent. It implies that when an artist finds success by creating something amusing, they are rewarded with the chance to continue sharing their unique perspective, humor, and creativity with others.


"When I was growing up, we didn't have much money. So every year for Christmas, my mom would take us shopping at Woolworth's."

This quote signifies that the speaker, Dana Carvey, grew up in a family with limited financial resources. Despite their financial constraints, they still made an effort to celebrate Christmas by taking their children shopping at Woolworth's, a department store popular during the mid-20th century. The quote thus conveys a sense of warmth and familial love amidst economic hardship.


"I'm just very grateful that I was able to do something funny and be a part of making people laugh, and it's really all I ever wanted to do."

Dana Carvey's quote highlights the deep fulfillment and satisfaction he finds in his ability to make people laugh. His career as a comedian was not just a profession for him but a personal passion, a dream come true. The quote conveys gratitude for having the opportunity to bring joy to others through humor, underscoring the importance of pursuing one's dreams and passions in life.


We didn't even think about it, you know? I used to collect laser discs, and you'd have some college professor analyzing It's a Wonderful Life or Citizen Kane, and now it is pretty funny - the idea of commentary for a silly kid's movie, you know?

- Dana Carvey

College, Some, Movie, Commentary

I have a theory that if you're famous more years than you're not famous, then you get a little nutty.

- Dana Carvey

Famous, More, Than, Nutty

I know it's a cliche, but the whole family is just whacked. I mean, we're all out of our minds. They're the funniest, most eccentric bizarre people I've ever met, my siblings.

- Dana Carvey

Bizarre, Whole, Our, Funniest

I'm from the old school - you go where the power is, and you try to make fun of it. When it becomes off limits to say or do certain things without being brutalized or censored or whatever, it's unfortunate.

- Dana Carvey

School, Without, Censored, Old School

Monty Python never directly said, 'We're liberals' - they just did their sketches, and you had to figure it out. Generally, they were anti-establishment, of course, making fun of the people in power. I think, comedians, that's their job - pointing out what other people might not notice and going, 'Yoo-hoo, over here.'

- Dana Carvey

Here, Other, I Think, Monty Python

I tried to go out for theater or theater arts, but I was too scared or too intimidated. But I had a lot of friends on the cross country team that had great senses of humor.

- Dana Carvey

Country, Go, Senses, Cross Country

There's always been a confusion about my sensibility. 'Is he kind of edgy, or is he Carol Burnett?' I'm a little bit of a hybrid. I like to please, but I like dark stuff, too.

- Dana Carvey

Always, Like, Been, Burnett

In maybe 1963, we had 'Collier's Encyclopedia,' and they sent us their yearly LP. I heard the Beatles talking on there. That was the first time I tried altering my voice, doing a Liverpudlian accent.

- Dana Carvey

Voice, Doing, Maybe, Altering

I couldn't do any of my other characters, you know? But I could have done the lady. Church Lady's Malibu Beach party is an idea I have for a movie, too. Yes.

- Dana Carvey

Movie, Other, Could, Malibu

I pretty much try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face.

- Dana Carvey

Pretty, Expression, Constant, Confusion

After years of begging, I got my parents to get me a little Craig tape recorder, a reel to reel. Then I started recording voices, or recording Jonathan Winters off television and stuff like that.

- Dana Carvey

Begging, Tape Recorder, Recorder

I think free speech is probably the coolest thing we have in this country, and again, you can label it hate speech and dismiss it, and then you're allowed to censor it.

- Dana Carvey

Think, Country, I Think, Coolest

I wasn't very good as a puppet. A lot of times in a movie, you need a really good puppeteer: you're sort of a puppet, and you're doing what you can. But I always, from the beginning, was kind of making up my own stuff from stand-up and sort of directing myself, so I wasn't very good in movies where I didn't have control.

- Dana Carvey

Doing, Movie, Very, Puppet

The two things that can hurt you are if you need money or if you need fame. Those are the things that can be your Achilles heel. But if you don't need money and you don't need fame, then you're free.

- Dana Carvey

Need, Your, Then, Heel

I always tend to think of all of my shows as possibly my last show. I'm like a junior Springsteen, without the underbite.

- Dana Carvey

Think, Always, Last, Possibly

I think the Brexit vote in Great Britain informing this populist movement of nationalism is kind of a global thing, and I think it's no particular political party's fault. People have been left behind, and in America, we're used to going forward. It's always like we're going to be better; the next generation's going to be better.

- Dana Carvey

Behind, Next, Been, Informing

It's almost like he's started to sound even more exotic the more people started doing him. I don't know why, but there's just something about Al Gore that makes me laugh.

- Dana Carvey

Doing, Sound, Almost, Just Something

Well, I loved variety in television, I loved sketch comedy. At 'Saturday Night Live,' I stayed almost seven years.

- Dana Carvey

Television, Saturday, Almost, Sketch Comedy

There was no Groundlings or Upright Citizens Brigade where I was from. Looking back on it, I was trying to do sketch comedy in my stand-up, which is still kind of what I am doing now. To go full-circle here, it's kind of like one-man sketch.

- Dana Carvey

Looking Back, Doing, Here, Sketch Comedy

Definitely for me, my personality, having children was a definite sea change. I found it very, very hard to balance show business and being a dad. The narcissism of show business and the complete, total focus of it was very difficult.

- Dana Carvey

Show, Very, Dad, Narcissism

If you just kind of live a regular life and make good 'Hollywood' money, you have a certain freedom.

- Dana Carvey

Kind, Hollywood, Just Kind, Regular

Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.

- Dana Carvey

Star, Sometimes, Sensibility, Silliness

I grew up middle class - my dad was a high school teacher; there were five kids in our family. We all shared a nine-hundred-square-foot home with one bathroom. That was exciting. And my wife is Irish Catholic and also very, very barely middle class.

- Dana Carvey

Very, Shared, Dad, Middle Class

I used to sneak up to the 8th floor and watch Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo rehearsing 'Saturday Night Live' and could only wonder if I would ever have the chance to be funny. It took me five years to go up the two stories, but it is such a sense of fulfillment to be able to show what I can do on national television.

- Dana Carvey

Saturday, Show, Joe, Sneak

I recently found out about this other super movie star. He only works from about 11:00 to 4:00, so all his movies take like 120 days. But this was a lot of stuff to do in 35 days.

- Dana Carvey

Movie, Other, Works, Movie Star

I've never really worked on them. Just once in a while one hits me and makes me laugh. My Al Gore was sort of like a gay Gomer Pyle.

- Dana Carvey

Like, Makes, Them, Gay

I had written in another draft a completely different kind of fight, but they said they couldn't afford to shoot it. They needed a fight scene, though, so I was told to put a fight scene in, but not the one I had written.

- Dana Carvey

Kind, Needed, Though, Shoot

This movie will actually increase the sex life of parents everywhere because they can put this on, with the 45 minutes of extras and they've got almost two hours to do whatever they've got to do while the kids watch the movie.

- Dana Carvey

Will, Movie, Hours, Increase

You just have to be very humble if America has really worked for you like it has for me. Most of my friends are poor. Most of my siblings are poor. I see how hard it is just to get money unless you've got some incredible luck or work incredibly hard. I want everyone to do well. I wish 'Wayne's World' money on you!

- Dana Carvey

Humble, Some, Very, Sibling

I'm more of a people pleaser.

- Dana Carvey

People, More, Pleaser

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