The thing about being an actor is that you're in the business of not growing up
I would make a huge distinction between theater improvisation and film improvisation. There isn't much improvisation in film - there's virtually none. The people that theoretically could be good at this in a theater situation don't necessarily do this in a film in a way that will work, because it's much broader on a stage. But in a movie, it has to be real, and the characters have to look entirely real because it's being done as a faux documentary, so there are even fewer actors that can do that on film.
As an actor. . . at some point you've got to forget that the crew's there in order to do your job.
I'm not really a Method actor. I'm always afraid of working with someone who's afraid to [break character] and won't talk to anyone because they're in character.
I don't have actor training myself.
It's a scary thing going into the workforce with a $50,000 debt and you've been trained as a classical theatre actor. There's always a depression in the theatre.
Actors should arouse a sense of wonder because of their ability to exceed what the spectators can envision ever being able to do.
Every animator is really an actor performing in slow motion, living the character a drawing at a time.
I had admired Richard Burton for years and years before I had ever worked with him. He was a great, great actor. It was a joy to get to know him as a person.
As an actor, you have to get used to being told no, develop a thick skin, and just keep persevering.
If I work with a bad actor, my reaction is to immediately become worse than they are.
I was always the hero with no vices, reciting practically the same lines to the leading lady. The current crop of movie actors are less handicapped than the old ones. They are more human. The leading men of silent films were Adonises and Apollos. Today the hero can even take a poke at the leading lady. In my time a hero who hit the girl just once would have been out.
I always had an actor within me.
There's a nimble quality to the way a television actor can work. When that muscle gets strong it's a very valuable thing.
I never started out to be an action actor. I was an ensemble actor.
I'd rather a young black actor read about success as opposed to how tough it was. I get these roles because I can act and that's it. Hopefully that's it.
A lot of actors are frustrated because they want to do things that are different and test themselves. Character actors are always looking for something the opposite of what they did.
As an actor, I travel around a lot and live in a lot of hotels, and many times I've been in a town where the only entertainment to be had is what you find in the hotel bar or lobby.
I don't think I”m a very good actor. Everything is very tentative and at a certain point you click in and just feel the spirit move you. I can be possessed really well.
In real life, every person is the leading man or woman. We don't think of ourselves as supporting or character actors.
