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Actors on Acting #13--Some Final Thoughts (Download Word version of #13)
© 2004 Hawk Storm
Have the uncommon thought on a common matter.
There is drama in every person’s life that does not need to be heightened.
Find poetry without creating a world we cannot touch.--Sean Penn
By expanding ourselves as humans we can then expand ourselves as artists. Be willing to put yourself at risk or how will
you know what you can do?--Kathy Bates
Actors must find a structure to (1) learn, (2) reaffirm what we already know and (3) follow our intuition.
The great actors had a love for art, humanity and the human spirit.--Danny Glover
Seek you counsel honestly.--Jerry Lewis
Actors must learn to let go, trust themselves and have fun which allows you to relax.--
Angelica Huston
You already exist. The character exists on paper. To bring the character to life you must bring your own passion and truth.
Come with ideas and be willing to surrender them.
Some of the great actors cannot tell you what they did in the last scene.--Christopher Reeves
Find the humanity in each character. Find out what the character loves.--Laurence Fishburne
It’s like falling in love. That is the way I greet every character. What makes me feel good is to have spoken from the soul to a soul.--Meryl Streep
You create reality through imagination.--
John Hurt
You must create conflict as soon as possible in both drama and comedy.--Mike Nichols
I hate the rules. You must break the rules to grow.
Push the envelope. Push the boundaries.--Arthur Penn
Building up confidence is the trick of tricks. You have to fake it initially.--Julia Roberts
Emotional power is the
greatest gift an actor can have. Unpredictability is great in acting because it is true in life and in conversation. Life behaves unpredictably.
I will often figure out what I am supposed to do and then do the opposite.--Christopher Walken
We must constantly examine who we are, how we got here and how are we going to get through it.
We need to recapture the thrill of play like children.--Tom Hanks
It is important to know how to recognize an impulse that is rising within you and snatch it.
Appreciate that impulses come from a different place.
--Ellen Burstyn
Craft is having the tools to create something.
It is not talent. Some have talent but no craft and when they get into trouble they are ----. When the gift is not there or you are beyond your gift you need your tools and your craft.--
Ellen Barkin
The greatest things come out of a relaxed state. Rehearsal is the work. Performance is the relaxation.--Andy Garcia
Blocks are usually caused by the embarrassment of
letting it all go, letting it all out. It is not what you explore. It is the depths you are prepared to go. Go deep.--Michael Cain
Judgment is a killer. If a script says you
are laughing and you then choose happiness you have cut off other great choices like sadness, fear, anger etc. Life is never what it seems.--Phillip Seymore Hoffman
Ask yourself the questions you would not want to know the answers to.--
Kevin Spacey
Stay a kid.--Alan Alda
I feel the best and most relaxed when I am acting.--James Woods
I always have doubts about how I am going to do
it. Realize that it is part of the process and why you might be nervous.--Michael Douglas
Gene Hackman always stays on the set and does not use stand ins so he can stay in character and
fill up with emotion.--Matt Dillon
Acting fills my needs. When current needs are fulfilled I find I have new needs that are different.--Holly Hunter
Get to the point that you are not thinking and let your imagination take over.--
Mathew Broderick
Don’t have a plan. Be spontaneous and be in the spirit of the moment.--Shirley Mclain
Travel to the forbidden places in your soul.
Face your fears continuously. It gets better not easier. To bring it up close is the journey.--Harvey Keitel
Mike Nichols always wants you to remember and protect the character’s humanity.--
Nathan Lane
Get out of your way as an actor.--Carol Burnett
Quit trying to do it. Let it do you.--Mary Stuart Masterson
To find the character he works
inside out. You have to bite deep to get blood. Go deep. Dig, dig, dig.--Gary Sinese
Comedy is serious.--Antonio Banderas
The three hallmarks of great acting are passion, focus and unpredictability.
Acting is trusting that you are not going to die when you jump off the cliff.--Val Kilmer
In the great roles, you do not play them – they play you.--Kevin Kline
Success
is how you handle disappointments. We all have them. We need to learn to walk with them and turn them into something great.--Ethan Hawke
For creativity you need to observe everything around you and be in a safe place.--
Robin Williams
Your responsibility as an artist is to get to know yourself completely and then put all of yourself into your work. Acting is a matter of courage. You must not be afraid
of making a fool of yourself.--Steven Speilberg
There are no coincidences I life. It’s all a pattern we just can’t see sometimes.--Ben Kingsley
Struggle is a part of
the pursuit of acting. Don’t forget to put it in your bag. And, don’t allow yourself to be bitter.--Debra Winger
Acting is all about passion and preparation.--Pierce Brosnan
Trust your humanity. Let it out without any twists. Trust its simplicity.--Ed Norton
Stanislavsky said that only music goes straight to the heart arousing emotion.--Martin
Scorsese
We are so lucky if we get to do what makes our blood bubble.--Charlize Theron
I eat life. I observe everything. I feed my work and my work feeds my life.--
Tom Cruise
Preparation is a privilege. The more you put in the more you get out.--Russell Crowe
Directors can support you but it is up to you to do the work.--
John Travolta
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