Quotes About Acting

Layers are not difficult for me. You have the luxury of takes, so if you feel like, say, you did not take in the fact that your aunt is across the way in one take, you do it again and try to add that piece.

But when I was seven or eight, I did my first little piece of acting.

Doing a piece on film is completely different from doing it onstage.

I think acting is only one part of the piece of the movie. I'ts an important piece, but I'd like to be involved in all the other aspects of making movies.

First, you do a piece of material that begins and ends and has a flow; it's not chopped up as in a film, where in an extreme case you might be doing the last scene of the script the first day that you go to work, and you don't know enough about the character you're playing.

I don't believe there is any character that one can play for that long and not bring a piece of you to it.

I've always been interested in character-driven pieces, and my approach to directing is through acting.

Pain is pain, joy is joy - you can't avoid bringing pieces of yourself into a role.

The play is one of the very few pieces of great dramatic and comic writing that I have read in a long, long time. I was drawn to it because of the power of the writing, which gives me the actor a chance to explore many facets of myself.

At the beginning of 'The Hills,' I couldn't watch myself because I'm very critical and would pick myself to pieces. But with movies I feel like it's different because you're playing a character. So it's like watching yourself but not watching yourself.

It's hard to say what you learn acting a part. You find bits and pieces of yourself that are inside the character you play. You locate the relatable aspects of that character to your own life. So, in a way, every part you play forces you to discover things about yourself you might not have learned otherwise.

Working with Pierce Brosnan and Minnie Driver was just a dream. A bit of a pinch-yourself moment.

Hanging out with Pierce Brosnan on the set of 'A Long Way Down' was quite an extraordinary thing to do. The interesting thing is, he never behaves like a star. He's a really nice man.

It was tough to try to be serious in front of Halle Berry and Pierce Brosnan with all this stuff in my face. There's never been a character that's looked this extreme.

I love the 'Mildred Pierce' miniseries.

I was in the play 'Fat Pig in the West End,' which is a comedy but has dramatic moments.

I got pigeonholed a bit. When I wanted to be an actress, I never wanted to be the kind of actress I became.

The cool thing about being different in this industry is that you get different roles; you aren't pigeonholed the same way.

Actors do tend to get pigeonholed. People want to know who you are so they can put you in a box. It's lovely to be known for such diametrically opposite roles.

If I'm pigeonholed, it's that people think I play sweet-natured ne'er-do-wells. There are worse fates than that in Hollywood.

I'm aware of being pigeonholed in those period drama roles. But, I do love them at the same time.

I'm still fighting for parts - it's not like I'm sitting with a big pile of scripts putting them in a 'yes' and 'no' pile.

If I have a free day, sometimes I'm just reading scripts all day. They pile up.

I'm addicted to Altoids. I call them 'acting pills.'