Eric McCormack Quotes (20 Quotes)

Will isn't a screaming queen - that's Jack's part. They needed someone to play the part for America. It's just not the same as Britain. To have a gay character as a lead is risky.

I'm doing a very funny show in which we talk about issues. I speak at Aids charities and things. It's great to do something fun with our days and yet we're told we're doing something important.

First of all, nobody wants to see sitcom characters have sex. I didn't even want to see the Sex and the City girls have sex. This is not why I watch a comedy.

If you're doing an hour-long show, you're working movie hours, doing a 12-15-hour day. We work three or four hours a day, and get every third or fourth week off to give the writers time to write. It's the cushiest job in Hollywood.

I started to realise that it wasn't for me. Perhaps I didn't have to give my Hamlet before I died, that the world might be an OK place without my Hamlet, in fact.

I've gone to NBC every year and said, 'If you're going to move us, could you tell people' But I think NBC took a laissez-faire attitude.

Mostly, I think, it's actually really joyful, ... It was a decision that we made, and we made it together. And so we're going into this thing knowing that we're not going to overstay our welcome and we're going to take it out in a big way.

Critics want 'fresh,' ... But long-running television shows aren't built that way. When people tune into 'Will Grace,' they don't want new actors in the roles. They don't want a new setting They don't want to suddenly see it taking place in Miami. The freshness must be strictly internal, how we do little things. The big picture is not gonna change that much.

The number of people in the Midwest that now watch a show with two gay characters, I think, is remarkable.

We didn't make a lot of political statements. The political statement was just the fact that we existed for eight years and we existed early. We're just going to make it easier for other shows to have gay characters without having to put a spotlight on them as gay characters.

I have accomplished a lot, but it didn't happen overnight for me. I was 35 when I got the show, and had been working professionally for 15 years. It would be a lot weirder if I were in my early 20s and stumbled into it.

But I was ready for it and I knew I could do it. I've just turned 40, I have a son and I feel more settled and driven than ever. I think my 40s will be my most prolific time. It's a very rare life you get to lead as a sitcom guy.

Every week we have 300 people who line up to see us live. Part of the kick of a sitcom is it is in front of an audience. It is just a small audience every week. This time the audience will be America. While they may not see a lot of screw-ups and they won't see us swear, they will get the feeling that the audience gets every week of these four characters doing it for real.

I think there's a controversy being invented for the sake of controversy, ... I think when people see the first few episodes, they'll realize it's not that big a deal.

That's what TV does today.

I think we're in denial a little bit.

I shouldn't give it away, but I wake up in bed with Bob Newhart, ... No, it will be a great ending. It will not be a wedding per se . But I think these characters deserve a little happiness. I do know the ending. And I can't tell you.

The freshness must be strictly internal, how we do little things. The big picture is not going to change that much.

I had played many gay characters before, but they were finite - guest characters in TV shows or characters in plays.

The four of us wanted to make sure that the show went out properly, with a bang and not a whimper. If you stay around one year too long, that's obviously what happens. We just wanted to protect these characters and protect the legacy.