Quotes About Craft

An actor does not have anything to do with the business of screening films.

I wrote the screenplay for 'This Is Where I Leave You' - all 40 drafts of it.

It's hard writing screenplays.

I consider myself a good screenwriter.

I find that screenwriting is at best kind of a hackwork in some ways.

There's a satisfaction I get from writing fiction that I will never get from screenwriting.

As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.

Actors, I have to say, most of the time, they elevate things; they don't screw things up most of the time.

Actors are always looking for actor-proof parts. A part so good you can't screw it up!

You start out with scripts pre-written, with no specific actor in mind, so you've got to build a character on top of that foundation. It's not just lifting words off the page, it's constructing a history around them as well.

I used to sculpt a bit as a kid.

To be very honest, I owe it all to TV, it has made me what I am today. I've learnt the craft from it.

People who say they're not nervous - I would be kind of curious to see how successful you are at what you do and how long you've done it. And what is success in your eyes? Have you separated yourself from everyone else in that craft? Or have you settled amongst the pack?

I rewrite a lot until I get the rhythm and story right on the page.

It takes me two to three years to write a novel. A screenplay is 100 pages and takes five years.

I've learned to really love revision over the years and worked hard to build up my craft muscle to make my revisions less and less painful with each book.

I did many things in my life - I painted, and I'd play guitar, and wrote and did many things. But it all seemed to come together in making movies, and almost accidentally.

At the end of the day, if you're an actor, you want to act. And it's not something you can do in the living room alone. If you're a painter, you can paint at home. If you write music, you can write on your own.

A painter has his brushes, a musician his instrument and as an actor you use your body.

For me, acting is about the art of it and it's about being on a film set and doing your thing, painting a blank canvas.

I really want to continue doing art. I would love to go back to doing paintings one day.

Books arrive in my head all at once, and then it becomes an 18-month process of getting it all down on paper.

I can still put down some pretty nasty stuff on paper, which is what I enjoy doing.

Acting can be a narrow and isolated experience, because you only examine your particular part.