Top 67 Quotes & Sayings by David Nutter

I can honestly say that I've never seen such a transference, from person to character, as I have with James 'becoming' Tony Soprano. Because he was, of course, nothing at all like Tony in real life.

It's quite something to see that what I was doing was affecting people in that respect: people jumping up and down on their couches, screaming, yelling, crying.

All teenagers feel like aliens on occasion, and they all have secrets to share.

Getting viewers to come back is the real key to making something successful.

The caliber of people that I've worked with, there'll never be another 'Game of Thrones' crew, and it's a situation in which I feel truly is the cornerstone of my career.

All I know is I've had an overall deal with Warner Brothers Television since the 'Smallville' pilot; that was my first pilot for Warner Brothers Television. I have to do pilots for them, but I get a chance to spend time and find the people that work best with me.

Without having an emotional connection or some relatability to the characters, there's really nothing to root for, in some respect.

I've been a big fan of telling stories with young people that have a strong sense of reality.

After 'Disturbing Behavior' and the pummeling I received creatively and emotionally, I did not know if I had it in me to do it again, but I just jumped back in and said, 'This is what I love to do so much, so I'm just going to do it as well as I can.'

Brendan Fehr has such charisma and such natural ability.

You use marketing to see what an audience's first impression is because that is something you can never really know yourself until you see it.

I don't want to be someone whose shot takes you out of the dramatic sequence or takes you out of the emotional story that you're trying to tell or says, 'Hey, look at this cool shot I have here.' To me, that's not right.

I wanted to keep the same general attitude we created for the show in that there are some similarities to 'The X-Files,' so some of the realistic atmosphere that we created on 'The X-Files' is the same that we've created for 'Millennium.' It's an atmosphere that helps the audience invest themselves in the characters and believe what they're doing.

Really, the audience's objective is to exercise their emotions when they're watching. They want to lean in and care.

I have to find that project that moves me in some way. Anything else, and you're not trusting your gut.

The romance that can never really gel because of the powers that be... that's a great conflict.

I went off and did 'Space,' which turned out very well, and when the series was picked up, my options were to stay with 'Space' as a producer/director or go to 'The X-Files' as a producer/director.

Many TV shows will create characters where you get a sense of who they are, but they're just the bad guy out to find you and you don't know why because there's no tone or dimension there.

Talent is No. 1. No. 2 is being at the right place at the right time.

I don't just want to do something to do something. I've been spoiled by Glen Morgan, Jim Wong, by the 'X-Files' experience.

No matter what world you're creating, whether it be a real world or a fantasy world, you still have to make the characters relatable or somewhat understandable.

The biggest challenge directing the final season of 'Game of Thrones' is just the importance of getting it right.

As a director I like to be very invisible. I don't like to be noticed.

I think I feel that way - that filmmaking is a responsibility, not only creatively but also financially in that it's a business. You can't forget that.

I thrive best when I'm in a positive situation - that's the most important thing.

The Red Wedding was, for myself as a director doing this, such a mammoth experience.

I enjoy the hero genre more than anything else. I enjoy origin stories. I enjoy doing stories about people who learn what they are capable of.

What's most important is to create an atmosphere that's real, providing characters the audience can root for. Once they become emotionally attached, that's the secret in building a show. The audience can see themselves in these characters, and they respond to the stories.

I want to do something that can make people feel something and make them care about the characters.

Whenever I get any of the 'Game of Thrones' scripts, it's always like, 'oh my God, how am I going to do this?' It's a sort of performance anxiety about being able to do a good job.

I learned that when you work for the very best, you have to bring your very best.

Things take time my friends - they take a lot of time to create and 'GoT' is the last place you're going to find half baked work so it's all about making sure they fill the frame with as much capacity as possible and making it as real and right as possible. Small price to pay for the amazing quality that comes out of that show.

With 'Millennium,' you're not going to see the normal TV character developments that people might think 'Oh, the audience wants to see that.'

The 'Smallville' pilot is the one I get a lot of attention for. I did a couple of earlier ones, but the 'Smallville' pilot is the one that got things really rolling.

As a director, I really have to rely on my first impression because I utilize that to best tell the story - that's all the audience has. I let the scripts be my Bible.

When Orlando gets to the point where they're hiring local directors, that will be good.

When it comes to films, so much is in the hands of bottom-line guys. There's a lot of fear involved there, and not a lot has to do with the vision of the artist.

If you don't trust your own judgment as an artist, as someone who has contributed to a work of art, then why do it?

Sometimes surprising an actor in a good way like that can actually create a response you're not expecting.

I believe in the value of test screenings.

On the 'X-Files' our attitude always was respect the audience.

I've never directed an opening episode of 'GoT' before, until season 8, but I think it's really important to make a splash. You have to reset the table, put everyone back in their place, you have to take them to their next position. But you have to entertain, that's what's most important.

I always had in the back of my mind to go to L.A. because that's where the opportunities would fall into place.

I think reality deals with good and bad.

When I directed the pilot for 'Smallville,' I knew that making Clark Kent relatable would be the key to audiences believing in him as a hero. 'Arrow' is a different show - darker and harder-edged - but it's the same core idea.

I do extensive storyboards so people can get a sense of what we're doing, and what the attitude and tone is. I work a lot with the actors. I like to go to sets or locations with them before shooting so that they know what they'll be doing on the day. I have found actors really do like to know about blocking, etc., before the shoot day comes.

I want to make something like 'Arrow' and 'Flash' relatable and understandable and not make it cartoonish.

To me, the most important selling point of 'Roswell' was that the audience has to believe in the characters they're watching.

I've never come across, as a casual Internet person, a spoiler that I wasn't trying to look to find.

Fortunately, I'm in a position where I'm reading lots of feature scripts and so forth.

I used to say teenagers were the aliens among us and I think all teenagers feel that way in many respects.

There's a childlike quality to Tarzan that's quite beautiful and wonderful, but there's also an intelligence and fierceness that's quite powerful as well.

What's important is you have to care about what you're watching and the characters you're watching and what they are going through.

I always believe that editing is the kind of thing where you want to cut into a scene a little bit after it starts and get out before it ends.

I'm not a director with a style.

One can never regret the decisions made at the time you make them, because that can only lead to bitterness and sadness.

I feel that I want to do something of worth and value and it's just a question of finding that.

One of the things The WB has about it that a lot of other networks don't is they lead with their heart.

I've chosen television because of the quality of material that I'm offered, not being a writer, so I've turned a lot of features down.

Sometimes, when actors reach out to their characters, they're nowhere in sight. They need to find something inside of them. And then the characters are right there. As a director, I want them to find the character that's already inside them, instead of trying to manufacture or manipulate or make something up. That's not really honest or true.