Quotes About Acting

It's a misconception that an intelligent person can't act and I want people to discard such notions.

I've always been a huge fan of Charles Lawton's performance in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' so somewhere along the line, I've always wanted to play that character.

Actors love to do extreme things, so that is why they become actors; otherwise, they'd be novelists.

They did cast me as an ingenue once, and the novelty was nice. But I said, 'There is nothing here to play!' I really like getting into the meat of a role.

It doesn't matter if I have experienced actors alongside or novices. It doesn't matter if the director is one film old or a hundred. All I'm interested in is doing justice to the role.

The idea of acting is something that absolutely repulses me. I just can't do it. I'm terrible at it. I get roped into films every now and then, and it's always a disaster.

I think it would be amazing to be a character actor and still be a lead now and then in movies.

It often looks like an actor's had a big break out of nowhere, but in reality, they've been working their way up, little by little, for a while.

If you're on a film set for 48 weeks of the year, you're nowhere near reality. You can't emote like a human being.

People relate to my characters and see me in a different way. They identify with me and remember the nuances of my characters.

The person you're playing must have feelings, but if he's not able to show them, then just the subtlest rumblings and nuances can say an incredible amount.

It's difficult to adopt mannerism of a real-life person and even add the nuances of your acting into it.

As I've always been open to learning, directors have helped me with the nuances of acting.

People are confusing me with a good actor when I'm just a good mimic. When someone asks me to play a nun from the fifteenth century, you'll see what I mean.

I was on 'That '70s Show' as the sexy nurse. I like that show, but I hated my character. I was like, 'I will never do anything like this again in my life. I feel crazy.'

Saying good-bye on 'Nurse Jackie' was a really big deal, so I'm sure I was keeping myself guarded from ever having to feel anything like that again on another job, especially a death scene.

Drama school was a lifeline for me, it saved me. I found it very nurturing - I just clung on.

Everyone at home thought I was nuts when I said I wanted to be an actress, and I'm sure they were just trying to protect me from disappointment.

I spent the majority of my adult life in a business where the object is to make people believe that you believe what you say. I was good at that, right?

But I'm not objective when I'm acting.

It's a basic tenet you learn at drama school. If you're playing someone evil, you can't make an objective moral judgment. You've got to get inside the character and empathize as much as possible.

I personally don't prefer acting and directing in something because I don't have the same objectivity.

I love 'Gone Girl,' so bringing 'Sharp Objects' to life, that was amazing.

I would often get called in to play a very loud, obnoxious - which, truth be told, I can be loud and obnoxious. My issue was when it was like a ghetto girl; I didn't think I was good at it; I didn't feel authentic. And so I had insecurities about going in on it.