Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (/ˈlɛvɪt/; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer, and entrepreneur.
The truth is, an actor's performance is the result of work by a lot more people than just the actor. When you see that character portrayed up on screen, there is the work certainly of the actor, but there's the work of the editor, there's the work of what the camera was doing. What the music was doing, all of the above.
There seems to be a notion in Hollywood that if you want to make money, you have to sacrifice doing good work with integrity. And I think that's bullshit. I think that's an excuse, and it's what people say who are scared that they can't do good work.
Normally you read a screenplay - and I read a lot of them - and the characters don't feel like people. They feel like plot devices or cliches or stereotypes.
If you don't stick to your plan enough, and you're too seduced by whimsical notions and new ideas, you can kind of lose your train of thought and end up with something that doesn't have a solid through-line.
I think our culture is sick and tired of fluffy nonsense and people want something more sincere and heartfelt.
I didn't want to just work within Hollywood when I started a production company. I wanted to be able to collaborate with great artists from all over the world.
I don't blame folks for not wanting to put me in their movies or whatever. I understand if their audiences had an association with me.
You usually get one or the other, you get someone who knows how to tell a story but they don't necessarily know about light and camera and rhythm, or you get someone who can make beautiful images but they can't necessarily tell a great story. He does both and I think he's going to be one of the film-makers that our time is remembered for.
The truth of actually working on a movie set is that you're in the midst of a logistical nightmare. There are so many things going on. There are many factors that keep your ideal scenario from ever happening. And you're rarely going to get that.
My dad never blew anything up, but he probably had friends who did. He and my mom have always preached that the pen is mightier than a Molotov cocktail.
I'm ready for another adventure now, take me far away please! Ok one more. . . But then you have to read to me!
I think there is something beautiful in reveling in sadness
I tend to think having an impact on the world is a lot more complicated than government.
I think we all have a tendency to feel like, "Well, what can I do? I can't influence the government or politics in my country. "
Comedy takes a very specific technique, specific skills.
I think any time you set out to make something, anybody is going to be confronted by those voices in their head that say "You don't need to do this. Someone else can do this better. You should probably just quit right now. "
A lot of movies try to set up a world with cool sets, costumes, camera work. In Brick, the world is born from the words.
The important thing is to find what's unique about yourself, find what's unique about someone else. And embrace everything in the moment, as opposed to constantly comparing yourself and your lover and your relationship to a static set of expectations.
I was studying for the SAT's and learning lines.
Fame has always been a downside to acting for me. It gives me the creeps.