Quotes from Liev Schreiber

My mother didn't let me see color films. I saw a lot of black-and-white films. The first time I saw Basil Rathbone, I was completely taken. To me, that was the epitome of great acting, was Basil Rathbone - not only in Sherlock Holmes, but the Sheriff of Nottingham, and all the terrible characters he had to play alongside Errol Flynn.

I have the kind of face that people want to punch.

Some actors need to be rattled and some need to be focused.

Part of what I enjoy about the theatre and acting is that sense of history.

My grandfather was raising me, and in many respects, I was trying to understand what it meant to be a man. He was my role model.

That's really how I got started was doing Shakespeare. When I got out of school, I was lucky enough to meet George Wolfe, who ran The Public Theater.

The best gig is the one you've got.

Actors, you know, they're often awkward people in real life.

Actors are as good as they allow themselves to be, and to portray life, you have to have as broad an experience of it as you possibly can, so everything's worth it.

Pitching. You're pitching yourself constantly which is probably why there are so many plays about sales. I think also it's like life.

You always have to create the character from the ground up.

I went to school in Massachusetts at Hampshire College.

I really don't think there is anybody in the business with better eyes than Elijah Wood.

And I think for me theres a lot of neurosis involved with where you should be or thinking about where you are all the time instead of being where you are.

When you're in a place like New York or D.C. you just can't beat it, and it's so hard to recreate because they are both such distinctive places.

I actually loved Winnipeg. Everyone told me I was going to hate it, but it was great.

I manage to hide in my movies.

The funny thing is that I write and I act a lot about being Jewish, but I don't really think about it as a regular person.

You'd think true masculinity was just calm and collected happiness. So alpha male that it needs not or worries not. But typically masculine characters are always fighting, and most violence comes from some agitated level of fear and anxiety.

I think, the first time I played Iago at the Public Theater, I realized I had a - much to my chagrin - I realized I had an instinct for these conflicted characters, for these torn characters, for these characters who could be described as evil. I wouldn't describe them that way.

No offense to the Canadians, but I believe location is like a character, and authenticity really matters. When you're in a place like New York or D.C., you just can't beat it, and it's so hard to recreate because they are both such distinctive places. I think it's pretty easy these days to tell films that are shot in Toronto.

If you are going to remake a film, you may as well remake a classic.

I'm drawn to people who share that sense of loss. All actors are trying to repair damaged relationships. I think that might be why I've been drawn to other actors.

No, I grew up admiring people who played ice hockey.