Wit & Attitude Quote by Christine Baranski

Baranski punctures a lazy myth the culture loves: that comedic brilliance is basically a personality disorder with better lighting. The line starts with a double “think” that matters. “I think people think” isn’t verbal clutter; it’s a polite way of calling out group prejudice without sounding sanctimonious. She frames “wild and crazy” as a public costume we’ve collectively agreed to mistake for the person underneath.

Her real move is the pivot: “He really is very disciplined.” That “really” is a backstage word. It signals insider testimony, the kind actors trade when they’ve watched someone hit marks, repeat takes, protect the crew’s rhythm, and still make it look spontaneous. Baranski is defending craft, not charisma. The subtext is union-solidarity adjacent: comedy isn’t just talent, it’s labor. And labor, in Hollywood, is easiest to erase when the end product looks effortless.

Bringing in Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams widens the indictment. These are three performers whose public images were built on velocity - verbal riffs, elastic faces, an almost caffeinated unpredictability. Baranski is reminding us that speed can be engineered; looseness can be rehearsed. The statement also quietly challenges how audiences reward “chaos” as authenticity, then punish the same artists when the mask slips or the discipline shows up as control.

Coming from Baranski - a performer associated with precision and rigor - the compliment lands as both correction and tribute: the funniest people aren’t free of structure, they’re fluent in it.