Quotes About Actors

I did theatre when it was not considered prudent for film actors to be seen on stage.

My view of actors is that basically they're all harmless lunatics who'd be on the psychiatrist's couch, except that we get this sort of catharsis every six months or so, and we go and be absolutely someone else.

We're just actors, man, just part of things. We're just doing our jobs, like everyone else does their jobs. The adulation for us is much more because we are always in the public eye. But I never became an actor because I wanted people to scream out my name.

I moved to New York City in '92 and had no money. I had a lot of free time, as actors do. I would go to the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center.

I know actors come around and they always talk like that, but I don't do publicity if I don't like the film.

I know actors who court personal publicity because they believe no publicity is bad publicity.

I know a lot of actors use media just to garner publicity. I keep away from all this.

If you cast the picture correctly, you have a whole lot of leeway. You can make mistakes in other aspects but pull it off with the right actors.

It seems like they never say anything bad about actors, they just pump them up.

There's nothing like working with the best actors possible, and if you have a piece of material like, 'Long Way Down' or 'Love Punch,' which allows you to play, then it's just a joy to go to work.

The way that actors talk about acting is generally quite punishing, and I think actors want to put forward the idea that they do all of this work because, you know, it's a post-De Niro world, when, largely, in fact, it's almost never true.

I'm not interested in hiding from the fact that my parents are actors. I'm proud of them! It's very ordinary to pursue a career that your parents do, but when it's in the public eye, it becomes a complicated thing.

I can't compete with really big stars. I'm not a big star; I'm just an actor who came from Delhi to pursue her passion.

Actors often want to look like they're comfortable. You want to go into an audition saying, 'I'm your gal. I'm what you need.' Yet you don't want to push.

I don't feel particularly comfortable about actors using whatever power they may have to push their beliefs, unless they're extremely well informed.

When I shoot actors, I have that dilemma. I want the actor to be good, and sometimes I have to push them to a place that isn't pleasant. I always think: 'Is it worth doing for the sake of the movie?' But I have to remember the bigger picture.

Established actors will challenge you if they don't agree with the way you are taking it, and you have to argue it. But with a younger cast, they are more likely to wonder whether what they are doing is okay instead of trying to second guess the director. That helps push you.

I worked with creative people who were very demanding of me, and they helped me reach performances that I never could have gotten on my own without being pushed and having trust in them. And so I know the best way to get the best performance of an actor, and that's not to coddle them or to baby them. It's to help them; it's to push them.

A lot of people that make films say, 'We need this kind of character. Who's done it before? Get them to do it again.' That is exactly what actors are pushing against. It's kind of a cliche to talk about being stereotyped in that way, but it happens.

There's something about actors - not stars, but actors - if they have the character, and someone is pushing and shoving them to be the best they can be, they enjoy that.

Scorsese is a fan of improv and is always pushing actors to think up something that would make the scene more fun. He loves any idea that helps the scene be alive.

If there is something magic about the collaborations I have with actors it's because I put the character first.

Maybe I'll put my iPod in two minutes before. But truly, I've listened to actors say that they loved to listen to music before a shot, and I really understand that now because it puts you in the mood and gives you energy.

I love the opportunity to tell stories that people should know. I think it puts what we do as actors on the level of nurses and doctors. It takes us out of this idea of entertainment into an act of service.