There’s nothing more boring than unintelligent actors, because all they have to talk about is themselves and acting. There have to be other things.
I appreciate actors who work very hard to get at the truth of the character they’re playing. That speaks to me, and I try to protect that process because I value the focus and intention behind it.
The way actors interact with their audience via Twitter is a part of their personality. So if I interact less, that is a part of my personality. I am mostly lost in my own world.
I’ve always known I wanted to be an actor. It never crossed my mind to be anything else. I think I probably decided for sure when I saw ‘Sounder’.
An actors’ tribute to me is in his work.
If you’re an actor, even a successful one, you’re still waiting for the phone to ring.
I’m much more starstruck by athletes than I am by actors, and I think I saw Kobe Bryant at a basketball party, and I just kind of froze. He’s monstrous.
The actor already comes with emotions to the scene: fear, the fear of being in front of the camera. It is this fear that spurs the emotion of the scene. I too am afraid; I don’t know exactly what I am searching for. On the set, we are all participating in this fear together.
I started ‘Outer Banks,’ because there’s so much hype around it. I saw one episode and I didn’t really continue, but I got to keep going at it. Two of the actors on there were also in ‘Stranger Things,’ and all my friends always ask, ‘Oh my God, you know Madelyn Cline. She was in ‘Stranger Things’ too.’
For me, it is about creating a career – I’m very interested in the sports side and want to continue to do more stuff in that. But ultimately, what I consider myself to be is an actor, and the more variety I can play will continue to round me out.
I used to sit near Marilyn Monroe in the Actor’s Studio. She’d get dressed up because that was her identity. Sad. Those cameras wouldn’t leave her alone. She didn’t know where to hide.
When you talk about a great actor, you’re not talking about Tom Cruise. His whole behavior is so shocking. It’s inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially, but I think it’s kind of a sickness.
When an actor has money he doesn’t send letters, he sends telegrams.
Showtime has given new, young filmmakers – black, white, across the board – an opportunity to make films, as well as actors who want to cross over into directing.
I love to play different roles. That’s just the kind of actor I am.
An actor should always let humility outweigh ambition.
There are so many talented young actors in the industry. I’m just happy to have a job!
You know, I always got offered other stuff. Not the romantic leads, obviously. But very often it’s a role that’s underwritten, where the character has no personality at all. And they need a character actor who can fill it in.
Ninety per cent of how you learn is watching great people. When you are surrounded by good actors it lifts your performance.
‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ wasn’t the first Bollywood project offered to me. I was offered other projects with more established actors, but I always knew that I could easily be seen as just eye-candy.
It was my mother’s dream that I should work with a legendary actor like Amithabh Bachchan. I am happy that it has materialised now.
Let’s not get too precious about it: actors are not heart surgeons or brain surgeons. We are just entertaining people.
I think it’s damaging to know too much about a person, about an actor.
Is this film more interesting than a documentary of the same actors having lunch?
Chris Cooper is one of my favorite actors in the world. I’ve seen him in most everything he’s done.
As for poker, I’ve stayed away from that, even though when I was in Vegas for Ocean’s Eleven, I would get accosted by these guys begging me to play. They just want to take my money. They see me, think ‘actor’ and see some easy money.
I think every actor wants to be an FBI or cop at one point.
Sometimes people just need to feel heard, and being an actor has taught me to really listen.
Honestly, every person, every individual has a process, and my philosophy, whether it’s an actor or an animator, is you try to understand the process that person has so you can get the most out of them, but I think you have to sort of manipulate that process with honesty.
I’ve seen up close what can happen when actors talk publicly about their relationships: their personal life gets dismantled. It’s a show business game, and it’s one game I won’t play.
Whatever you do, do with determination. You have one life to live; do your work with passion and give your best. Whether you want to be a chef, doctor, actor, or a mother, be passionate to get the best result.
I always remember what my dad told me when I decided to turn into an actor. He was emphatic that whatever I do, I should get accepted by the audiences who watch my films.
My mom always knew I was going to be an actor because I was a ham from the very beginning, so she would push me toward it, which is really unconventional for Indian families to do.
I consider myself absolutely a character actor, and that’s what I want as a career. I don’t need to be the lead star or any of that, as long as I’m doing stuff that I’m proud of, really.
A lot of young actors will do a scene and then run off and look at themselves. I don’t believe in that at all.
Humpty’ was something I had to do. I had to stretch myself as an actor.
I think people are used to seeing actors be wide open and desperately giving of themselves, and while I do that on a movie set as much as I can, it’s so unnatural for me to do it on television, in interviews, in anything like that. I also don’t find that my process as an actor is really anyone else’s business.
I am a big fan of horror movies but I had never thought that I had wanted to act in one because I don’t think that actors get to do much in them. They’re usually just reacting.
Every actor strives to be in the moment, and when you’re on a horse, you constantly have to communicate with it and assert your authority.
It is very important for an actor to look physically attractive.
The best gift for an actor is the love of the fans. Many make sweet cards, write letters and even come and meet me wherever I am in India. The love and blessings of your elders is also always cherished, but the extra mile that the fans go to is memorable.
The success of a film at the box office will ensure happiness to the entire unit, but individual awards are like vitamin shots that will help boost the morale of an actor.
To be totally sincere, I’d surely be a better actor today if I hadn’t played Columbo all these years.
I’m really not an actor of any kind. I’ve always seen myself as an entertainer, someone who makes people laugh. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. ‘Doctor Who’ has always just been me, really.
As an actor, some of my favorite things to work on are night exterior scenes. Any time that we’re on location and shooting at night, it’s just magic. I got to do that so many times working on ‘Vampire Diaries’ that it filled my hat.
Many actors have protested about mobile phones going off in theatres, but the real menace now is people texting during a show. It may only disturb a few people around them, but for me, as an actor, when I spot them answering their emails, I am outraged.
I’m definitely one of those actresses who comes to a set knowing how I want to do a scene, and I definitely love input from my directors and my writers. I know that there’s some actors who like to be left alone, they like to be very independent, but I actually really enjoy the teamwork.
As an actor, you have to face the public all the time. It is a job that people fantasies, but it also creates prejudices; these prejudices are the scariest things. People judge a personal life or your image, and it can affect the characters I play. Therefore, I try not to showcase my personal life too much.
I’m there to tailor something very precisely and something very subtly to dialogue and the actor’s energy. I’m there to bring out something that isn’t spoken. ‘King’s Speech’ is the perfect film to do it.
You can think of Hollywood as high school. TV actors are freshmen, comedy actors are maybe juniors, and dramatic actors – they’re the cool seniors.
The strongest moments in my life are when I’m filming. It’s an adventure. As an actor I try to seduce someone, try to share something. The rest of my time is spent exploring experiences with women.
It’s the persona that makes you a leading actor. A leading actor has something extra that’s fun to watch. But it isn’t usually about acting.
My closest friends are Roger Moore, who is an actor, Sean Connery, who is an actor, Terry O’Neill, who is a photographer, Johnny Gold, who was the boss of Tramp, and Leslie Bricusse, who is a composer.
I think I discovered I wanted to be an actor when I got the first pay cheque.
There’s too many actors in LA. I mean, I’ll go out there from time to time, but I always find it pretty soul-destroying. I don’t drive, and the people kind of rub me the wrong way. It’s just not home. You know? It’s not New York. It’s not… my town.
It’s important for an actor to self-analyze.
We can compare classical chess and rapid chess with theatre and cinema – some actors don’t like the latter and prefer to work in the theatre.
