ACTING QUOTES III
quotations about acting
When I connect to my soul, project it into another character, and then bring it to the stage or to a film--that has always been for me the great joy of acting. It's been as if my soul kind of leaps out of my body and is able to be free and dance around.
KYRA SEDGWICK
Newsweek, Oct. 15, 2007
I would hate to be an actor -- seriously, I would hate it. To have these bozos spouting about acting from their protected academic positions, complete nonsense that you have to swallow or you don't pass the course, or you incur their wrath.
MARK WESTBROOK
"Acting Is Believing?", Acting Coach Scotland
A defective voice will always preclude an artist from achieving the complete development of his art, however intelligent he may be.... The voice is an instrument which the artist must learn to use with suppleness and sureness, as if it were a limb.
SARAH BERNHARDT
The Art of the Theatre
I remember a long time ago, a theater professor said that the definition of acting is "living believably under an imaginary set of circumstances." Living, not acting. You have to live. You are that guy.
JOHN KRASINSKI
"An Interview With John Krasinski and Margo Martindale of 'The Hollars'", popmatters, September 7, 2016
I sometimes don't enjoy it at all, and sometimes it feels like ... breath.
GILLIAN ANDERSON
Larry King Live, January 15, 2016
Once the curtain is raised, the actor ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public.
SARAH BERNHARDT
The Art of the Theatre
If you give audiences half a chance, they'll do half your acting for you.
KATHARINE HEPBURN
attributed, "Effective Persuasion", Blue Tongue Toastmasters
You can't always be a leading lady.
LAUREN BACALL
attributed, The Guardian, August 13, 2014
Technology, as I was saying, can and must help storytelling. I'm most impressed with motion-capture performance technology, the one with the man in lycra, the most sophisticated interface between man/actor and computer animation. It's a very pure form of acting, as Serkis would tell you. You're not helped by any sort of artifice or aided by any costume or prosthetic makeup. Instead, performance capture relies on a complex system of movement-mapping registered by multiple cameras, rendered digitally, and completed by a team of animators. It's an impressive feat of cinematic magic that has seduced filmmakers and moviegoers alike but has failed to change attitudes pertaining to authorship of the role, the blurring lines of performance and special effects, and, ultimately, the lack of a warm body on-screen. It's not CGI cheating!
J. J. ABRAMS
interview, Pirelli, December 16, 2015
I've been planted here to be a vessel for acting ... that's why I'm really taking any part, regardless of how complicated it's going to be.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO
attributed, The Leonardo DiCaprio Album
Much of acting is just listening and reacting. If you can keep it as natural as possible then everything is going to come out around you.
SHEAUN MCKINNEY
"Actor Sheaun McKinney leaves police academy behind to chase dreams in Hollywood", Rollingout, September 7, 2016
Acting is an astonishingly easy profession. I've given no more thought to my best roles than I have to my worst.
TALLULAH BANKHEAD
Tallulah: My Autobiography
The actor knows how to listen. It's fascinating to watch actors when they're not speaking. Some are too caught up in ego or technicalities (e.g., trying to remember the next line) to totally focus on whomever it is they're acting with. Others seem to register everything they hear. You can see whatever is being said to them physically affecting them, as if the words are slapping them across the face.
MARCUS GEDULD
"How Do You Differentiate Good Acting From Bad Acting?", Slate, September 10, 2014
I'm curious about people. That's the essence of my acting. I'm interested in what it would be like to be you.
MERYL STREEP
attributed, Pinterest
For the theatre one needs long arms; it is better to have them too long than too short. An artiste with short arms can never, never make a fine gesture.
SARAH BERNHARDT
Memories of My Life
Acting is a jealous and needy career that doesn't like the thought of you keeping your options open.
SOREN BOWIE
"5 Awful Things Nobody Tells You About Being an Actor", Cracked, January 30, 2012
Life's what's important. Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy. Acting's just waiting for the custard pie.
KATHARINE HEPBURN
attributed, The Book of Poisonous Quotes
The experience of acting in the film frame is akin to that of our primal ancestors who wandered solo away from their tribes across unfamiliar terrain to see what else was out there. You are skilled; you are adventurous; you are totally unprepared for what you will encounter. In the film frame, you need all your wits about you and a courage beyond what you think yourself capable.
JOHN SWANBECK
"Why Film Acting Is a Lonely Art", Backstage, March 1, 2016
In a close-up, the audience is only inches away, and your face becomes the stage.
MARLON BRANDO
The New York Times, Jul. 2, 2004
Film is a time capsule. If I have a lack of dedication or focus, it's permanently there as a negative reminder.
ADRIEN BRODY
Men's Health, Dec. 2005