Quotes About Acting

I talked to friends who are actors and who do Shakespeare loads, and they all said 'learn it so that your family wants to clobber you, they're so bored.' You can never relax, that's the problem, because when you do, a bit of Shakespeare comes up to bite your cheeky behind. It just does, if you're not really focused on it.

There's so much crap talked about acting.

I didn't really work with Vin on it except we talked about it a little bit. I think it was kind of cool because we didn't think it was going to be that emotional. I don't think Vin knew I was going to be that emotional.

Basically, as soon as I saw that there was a role available on '24,' I jumped at it, and then when I sat down and talked to them, it seemed to get more interesting and more fun.

Acting has never been a thing that me and my dad have talked about. It's like footballers: when they get together, I bet the last thing they talk about is football.

My grandfather talked about James Dean; they were both very much into method acting.

Nobody wants to play - I've talked to Brent Spiner about this. You don't want to play a character indefinitely who's not supposed to age.

I was 28 years old playing a 16-year-old. I just kept my mouth shut. I never talked about it.

I almost failed one drama course. All the actors talked in phony accents. It shocked me. I went out for track instead.

I read the script first to get the perspective on the whole story, the writing, and how the character I'm auditioning for is talked about by other people or relates to other people; from there, I go into the sides.

I often find during a day of shooting I will speak in an American accent all day long when I'm doing dialogue. At the end of the day, it often takes an effort when I'm talking to my fiancee to bring my English back just because you're so used to speaking that way.

We all grew up on movies with scenes where the actor is lying, and you know he's lying, but he wants to make sure you know it's a lie, and so he overacts and all but winks at you, and everybody in the world except for the girl he's talking to knows he's lying.

I'm always thinking I'm messing up. I did a lot of classes. I can't stand being on stage or the only one talking in a room, so class really helped me deal with that. It doesn't really get any easier, but it helps you focus on the acting.

Scorsese would talk to me about this movie 'The Heiress' with Olivia de Havilland. We were talking about this scene in it, and suddenly we were rolling. It was very intentional, and I didn't realize - because we talk old movies all the time.

I went to audition for an episode of 'Law and Order,' and they didn't understand why I was talking so fast, and I was like, 'No, you don't understand. I was on a show called the 'Gilmore Girls.' We had to say everything like that.'

Acting is our job, not talking about it. In France, they know me like I belong to their family. I go somewhere and I feel like I'm sometimes the aunt, the grandmother, the mother, the sister. They all know me. But it's not supposed to be that way.

There's nothing more boring than actors talking about acting.

I personally like to talk to people when I'm not doing a scene, still acting as if I'm in Gotham when I'm on set because I don't really like to break character, since I sometimes get distracted. I may get distracted when I'm talking to people and having fun; then I have to check myself.

I would say I was not working in the real sense in 'Paiyaa.' After doing very heavy scenes in my first two films, in 'Paiya,' I was romancing a girl, talking all sorts of funny things, and doing all light things just as if I were not acting!

Everyone talks about reality TV and that there are no roles left. That's false. Years ago, there were three networks. Now there are 20 cable networks and so many ways for films to be exhibited. It's an exciting time for actors, writers, directors, and producers.

On 'Silver Linings Playbook,' David O. Russell is the master at getting his actors to give him something that he doesn't expect. He loves to keep things spontaneous. He talks to the actors throughout a take because, in real life, you don't know what the next person is going to say; you don't know when you're going to get interrupted.

Initially, I was worried about playing Hansa, because Hansa is someone who talks a lot but does nothing. But after I started playing the character, it was such a relief.

Whether you're tall and you play a basketball player, or overweight and you play somebody who is dealing with the issues behind the weight, we all have to pull from real life to make those performances authentic.

I decided to take a stab at acting. I entered the American Academy of Dramatic Art, where one teacher told me I'd never make it - I was too tall.