Actors' quotes about acting and filmmaking

“I'm sure one reason I became an actor is my basic unwillingness to live one life.”
Scott Glenn

“There are no small parts; there are only small actors.”
Melanie Griffith

“One of the tools that an actor has - and it's a trite thing, but you can really use it a lot - is imagination.”
Ed Lauter

“I can't play anything until I find something that connects to my life.”
Will Patton

“There's no great mystery to acting. It's a very simple thing to do but you have to work hard at it. It's about asking questions and using your imagination.”
Eddie Marsan

“When you act, you're always playing a version of yourself. ”
Bradley Whitford

“Film making is a hugely collaborative activity and every actor contributes something valuable to the story as well as every crew member.”
Bruce Spence

“People who can dance and sing are often very good at comedy.”
John Michael Higgins

“When you think of a movie, most people imagine a two hour finished, polished product. But to get to that two hour product, it can take hundreds or thousands of people many months of full time work.”
George Kennedy

“Obviously, if a director doesn't communicative a clear, relevant vision of the material, it will not succeed no matter how good the material.”
Tom Skerritt

“Four hours of makeup, and then an hour to take it off. It's tiring.”
Peter Sarsgaard

“If a director sees that an actor is not believable, he needs to help him become believable.”
Tobin Bell

“In theater when you do a comedy, you rehearse for a few weeks and you begin to feel the rhythm. In film it's an arbitrary rhythm usually that has to look like a truthful one to work.”
Austin Pendleton

“I became an actor so I didn't have to be myself.”
Mark Ruffalo

“The more varied the characters, the better, as far as I'm concerned.”
Tim Roth

“Directing is the ultimate way to bring together all the art forms I've been involved with over the years.”
Xander Berkeley

“In all my science fiction movies, I try to blend the familiar with the futuristic.”
David Twohy

“The mood of sickness is in the audience; the filmmaker is only reflecting the climate of society.”
Lee Marvin

“The thing is, I never see my characters as psychopaths. I see them as really crippled victims who just happen to do bad things. And I never see them as bad guys; I see them as darker characters. I never see anything as good or bad; it's more light or dark, and the in-between is the grey.”
Michael Eklund

“Method acting? Mine involves a lot of talent, a glass, and some cracked ice.”
John Barrymore

“When I do an hour-and-a-half show, if I don't improvise 20 minutes worth of new material each night, I feel I've let myself down.”
Buddy Hackett

“I would photograph an idea rather than an object, a dream rather than an idea.”
Man Ray

“Everyone thinks acting is easy. It's far from easy, but it's the most gratifying thing I do.”
Eli Wallach

“Writing a screenplay is like writing a big puzzle.”
Grant Heslov

“There are so many elements that make a good film. You need a great director who's driving it.”
Aaron Taylor-Johnson