Quotes About Acting

Acting is so exciting to me. It's a thrill; otherwise I wouldn't do it. Not to be hokey, but I think life is definitely worth living, whether you're working or not. For an actor, the character is the thing... it doesn't matter what medium you're in. as long as you have something to do.

I was thirteen, and I did a movie that got attention, and I got attention, and I didn't like it - it made me uncomfortable - so I just quit. And then I was trying to figure out what to do and was worthless at everything, so I was like, 'All right, I'll try acting again.'

If I had the gift of Jerry Seinfeld, of Bill Cosby, of Lewis Black, these instinctively brilliant comic minds, then you go that route! But you gotta know your limitations. I'm more of an actor, more of a process guy. I did Tom Snyder, just as Danny Aykroyd did on 'SNL.' I did it in the club.

In the life of any actor or actress, there is inevitably a time when they will be eligible to act in a Tom Stoppard play. He has written a lot, and they are revived often, and there are so many characters of different ages that it was more likely I'd end up in something of his than that I wouldn't.

I really love Tom Hardy. He makes really interesting choices.

Everyone said how brilliant of Tom Conti to be in bed in 'Whose Life Is it Anyway?' and only have his head to act with. He should be so bloody lucky. I'm not for a moment disputing that Tom Conti is an absolutely brilliant actor. But he should be so lucky to be stuck upstage in the spotlight, with everyone focused on him.

I'm not in a rush to do anything. And I wouldn't say I pick and choose. When it comes to producers picking people for roles I don't think it's between me and Tom Cruise, do you know what I mean?

I don't see a full-fledged career in Hollywood. I am happy with the cameos. Even Tom Cruise will only do special appearances in our films; he wouldn't do a full hero movie. But it's good to act in different cinema.

When you do a Tom Cruise movie, you don't do a Tom Cruise movie and ask a lot of questions.

You know what I mean, I'm not Tom Cruise. I can act as long as the character happens to look and sound a lot like me.

I don't really have a lot of fun playing just straight good guys. It's not my thing. It's like Tom Hanks territory.

I would never put on 20 kilos and mess up my system because a role demands it. Hindi cinema doesn't offer you roles that get you an Oscar, anyway. Tom Hanks can do it in Hollywood; not us.

Tom Hanks is one of my favourite actors... I definitely want to work with him.

Not long after 'The Pacific,' I began shooting the comedy 'Larry Crowne,' which was also with Tom Hanks, who also directed and plays the title character.

I played in 'From the Earth to the Moon,' working with Tom Hanks. He is a great guy, very smart.

When I was coming up, everybody wanted to be Tom Hanks. There was always Robert De Niro and Al Pacino - they were the heavily dramatic stuff. I always had a foot in both camps. The hardest thing was to resist the advice to be like someone else. It took me a while to figure that out.

The part in 'Philadelphia' where I represent the law firm that's firing Tom Hanks, that was a hard part for me because I lost one of my best friends to AIDS, and it was hard for me to play a part that wasn't sympathetic to someone with AIDS.

Everyone always asks me, 'What advice did they give you on set?' but when you work with amazing actors like Anjelica Huston, Winona Ryder and Tom Hanks, the special thing about working with these people is getting to act alongside them. You see the decisions they make and the things they do. You learn from what they do and follow their footsteps.

I was working with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg when I was nine years old.

When I was in kindergarten, I had one line in a little play. I said, I am Patrick Potato and this is my cousin, Mrs. Tomato, and I heard laughter. I wanted to be an actress from that moment on.

I usually do get the tomboy parts in the movies, which is kind of like me, but not totally. I like to shop as much as Ashley, but she is a little more of a girlie-girl than me.

I got scouted when I was 16, almost 17, and it was something that had never entered my thoughts. I never thought I could be a model. I was such a tomboy growing up, and I've never really been into makeup or anything like that, so it was really surprising, but I definitely saw it as an in for acting.

I think I'm a part of all the characters I play, definitely at different times in my life. In real life, I'm kind of a tomboy. I like to read a lot I like watching T.V. I don't think I'm as interesting as my characters, but I like doing what I do.

I've said this before: myself and Tommy Shelby, he's the most unlike-me character I have ever played.