A Quote by Amy Poehler

I think chemistry is about not acting, but reacting, and not talking, but listening.

Amy Poehler

Quote Topics

About Acting Chemistry Listening Not Talking Reacting Talking Think

Quote Author

Amy Poehler
American - Comedian
Born: September 16, 1971

Acting is about listening and reacting. John Wayne was right: Acting is just reacting. You don't have to do much - as long as you stay out of the way of others. That's why it works.

Anthony Hopkins

Good acting is about reacting, not tryingto express something, but reacting to a situation as the character.I don't like acting acting.

Jim Jarmusch

Acting is reacting. You can't react if you're not paying attention, if you're not listening.

Reid Scott

I think it's critical in any character you play that it really is about reacting instead of acting. You can always tell when a person is acting.

Malin Akerman

Something people say about acting is that acting is listening. But I think that writing is listening, too. That you really have to listen to what are they saying and what they're communicating to you. And so, a lot of it is just getting stuff down.

Greta Gerwig

Listening is not merely hearing, it is receiving the message that is being sent to you. Listening is reacting. Listening is being affected by what you hear. Listening is letting it land before you react. Listening is letting your reaction make a difference. Listening is active.

Michael Shurtleff

When you see bad acting, that's usually what it is - they're not listening to the other characters. It's always hard with first-time actors to get them in that moment where they are really listening to the other characters and reacting to the other characters.

Sean Baker

I did some years of therapy and self-realization, and I just move and think at a slower pace - doesn't make me sound very smart! But really not reacting and doing more listening than talking, and letting people say what they need to say, and then maybe not saying anything at all.

Natalie Maines

I would rather do a play because it's instantaneous. You go on the stage, and you know whether it's happening or not. Somebody asked me 'What is acting?' And I said, 'Acting is listening.' And if you ain't listening, nobody's listening.

Charles Durning

I ask my assistants if they're retarded all the time. When the camera is on you, of course, actors have the ability to make it real. For me, if I'm not talking, it is a problem. I have so much more respect for actors after being in front of the camera, and I realize that the hardest part is when you're not talking. Listening is harder than just acting. Listening is the hardest part.

Brett Ratner

I think having a vision can make someone an influential man. I'm not talking about acting or anything like that, I'm talking about people I admire, whether it's a writer or a musician or a sports figure or a politician, whatever.

Benicio Del Toro

Acting is about reacting, and it's not easy to do that when you don't have a good co-star.

Amyra Dastur

That's the thing about acting is that it's reacting to what's going on around you.

Becky G

The key to acting has much more to do with listening than with talking.

Melissa Leo

The great difference between screen acting and theatre acting is that screen acting is about reacting - 75% of the time, great screen actors are great reactors.