Quotes from Billy Crudup

Los Angeles doesn't have as vital a theatre as New York does. And that's something that really interests me.

I put a lot of time and energy and thought behind what I do and the characters that I create, and I don't want to do anything peripheral that is going to make an audience see me up there on the screen rather than who I'm playing.

It's not that I don't want to be famous. It's just that I don't feel like the burden of responsibility on selling a film should be on the actors.

I do the best I can when I'm accepting the role to say, 'This is about as much as I can do, and if that's not suitable for you, then you should hire somebody else.'

One of the difficulties you run into is that acting and celebrity are so closely intertwined. People make careers out of being charismatic personalities. It's one of those things that people have come to expect from actors. Personalities that don't change from role to role. I don't want it that way.

A man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal.

I think one of the things that people take for granted when they watch a film is the actors have to exhibit an extraordinary amount of force to block out the stuff that isn't a part of their reality. And when the audience sees it, they're seeing everything the actor isn't seeing.

Everyone covering 'Stage Beauty' asks me: 'What's it like to wear a dress?'

I wish I could say that when I didn't agree with a director I defer to him, but I think sometimes I'm a little self-righteous.

My parents were really encouraging. But I had to teach them the proper way you respond to an actor after seeing a play - regardless of whether you like their performance you tell them how great they are because they have to go on again the next night.

I feel the film companies should pay for proper advertising to see that the movie will sell, instead of putting it on our backs.

I confess, I'm one of those actors who finds it incredibly hard to divorce myself and my performance from the work itself.

Acting is an expression of imagination. No firsthand knowledge is necessary.

One of the things an actor tries to access is immediacy, so that you feel like you're experiencing it for the first time. But when you're playing a character who knows what's going to happen and can't stop himself to reacting although he knows he can't stop himself from reacting, there's a whole separate set of things to consider.

If I had done 'Titanic,' it would have made, probably, $200,000 - worldwide. So I think my life would have been very, very similar.

Interest in certain themes doesn't mandate a personal stake or personal experience of those themes. I've killed people in plays, but no one asks me what it's like to kill people.

My limits are limitless. I find my limits every time I act.

That's what I always enjoyed about acting, the real adrenalin rush. My heart - still before I go on stage - crashing out of my chest. That's thrilling to me.

Every time I do a movie, I think it's going to be a huge hit.

I wish I had more of the hero gene, but I don't think I'd be very good at playing one.

You have to deal with rejection at every stage, whether you audition for the part and don't get it, you get the part and it gets terrible reviews, or it gets great reviews but then nobody sees it.

I've been really lucky; I've had the opportunity to play so many roles. I can't imagine a more fortunate career for an actor. I feel incredibly lucky.

There's exceptional work being done on television. Some of our great writers are writing for television. When you have things to choose from, you typically go after the writing - unless you're going after the money. There are fewer opportunities in film to make money with good writing, unless you're an action hero.

From here on out, I am only interested in what is real. Real people, real feelings, that's it. That's all I'm interested in.