Quotes About Acting

The hardest part when I decided to move into acting was trusting I'd made the right decision.

There may be 10 odd things which I want to do as an actor, and we get an opportunity also, but I need to be sure whether the person I am trusting or the role that I am relying on - is it the correct one?

Before I do episodes of 'The Good Wife,' I talk to the director and say, 'I'm trusting you to let me know if it's too much! I won't be offended.' So I put myself in their hands, and most of the time they let me do my thing, but sometimes they'll say, 'Let's try this.'

Part of the process of acting in a film that you're also directing is really trusting the people around you to capture your vision, which hopefully you have communicated well to them.

I am very happy that I am getting to play such layered and demanding characters. I feel blessed that directors are trusting me with such roles.

Acting is just about the script and the director giving you notes. In improv, it's more about trusting that the group will carry you.

People assume actors are born liars, but I'd argue the actor's job is to tell the truth. And I've realised I'm not a good liar.

I would love to have an ocean of love right now. That said, the number-one rule of acting is, 'Do not seek approval from the audience.' People don't realize that. You can't do stuff to get applause. You have to live in the truth.

Any acting is a stretch of the imagination. That's your job. Acting is truth in imaginary circumstances. Acting with green screen or a motion capture stage, you're striving for absolute truth in absolutely imaginary circumstances.

The truth is that to enjoy acting one must be an exhibitionist at heart, one must revel in those exposures of the emotions which would be agonizing to a shy or reserved person. All the great actors have been and are exhibitionists.

People think actors have such glamorous lives, but the truth is actors go where nobody wants to go.

Well, I think certain roles are chosen for us. The moment I read Pete Campbell I thought: I can do this, this is mine. And in Money, too. The truth is I turn down a lot of projects. If a character doesn't have some kind of internal struggle, it's no good for me.

I always have a rule that acting is acting and truth is truth and you just go out there and you do it. But what happens in each medium is that you have other responsibilities. The acting remains the same, but each medium dictates assuming other halves to make the acting work.

The truth is that I've always wanted to be an actor, ever since I was a child. I used to see these English movies which were shown to us in our school every Saturday, and then I used to enact the hero's part in my head.

The honest truth is - and I have felt this way forever - is my largest competitor is myself. Always. I am intimidated by my own hang-ups about acting more so than anything, any part, any director.

I remember being told very early on, 'Just say what they want to hear in the audition, and we'll figure it out later on.' So there have been a few tricky moments. I once said I could ride, when the truth is I'm terrified of horses, but I got the job!

The truth is I have always found it hard to get up. One of the reasons I became an actor was specifically because you get to lie in more than people with proper jobs.

I'd love to be one of those guys who could be like, 'Yeah, it's really exhausting,' but the truth is I'm not method. I don't take roles home.

I don't like to know exactly what I'm going to do in a scene, because the most interesting moments as an audience member are moments of truthful spontaneity.

Acting's not about nose jobs and liposuction. It's about being truthful to what you're doing.

There is a sense in which we have - like, I go in to teach a class; I may be somewhat different than I would be talking to you, although it's related because it's public. I'm very different with my roommate or my lover or my cats. But I don't know if that means you're acting, really, if you're being truthful.

Nobody is more truthful when he's acting than De Niro.

It's not the actor's job to be interesting; that's the script's job. It's our job to be truthful and brave.

I think I avoid stepping into sentimentality by trying to be as truthful as possible with performances.