A Quote by Annette Bening
Somebody said something really smart: It's like you end up being the defense attorney for your role. Your job is to defend their point of view. You're fighting for what they want. You learn that in acting school - it's Acting 1A: 'What do you want? What's in the way?'
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Anytime I get an acting role, I find a way to learn about something new, or heal a part of my life that I didn't know was hurting. I think anybody could benefit from taking acting classes. You don't necessarily have to want to be an actor or pursue the acting business. But just taking an acting class, you're going to learn so much about life and what it's like to walk in somebody else's shoes. It helps you stop judging people. It does something to you where you become empathetic to people's plights and journeys, and it makes you a little more understanding and caring.
Very rarely have I worked with a director where we've been at odds. And by the time you've actually talked to somebody and you have the job, there's something that they see in you that they want you to bring to the character. And the best director says very little to you, acting-wise. They usually just say, "Okay, here's the shot." It's their job to do all that stuff, and your job's to do the acting. So it's very rare that somebody will say, "Oh, no. I conceived this very differently".
My whole thing is I want to have a backup plan because maybe I won't get another acting job after 'Fame', maybe I'll want to give up on acting in five years or whatever and I want to have something else that I enjoy just as much as I enjoy acting.
I laughed but before I could agree with the hairdressers that she was crazy, she said, 'What's the world for if you can't make it up the way you want it?' " 'The way I want it?' " 'Yeah. The way you want it. Don't you want it to be something more than what it is?' " 'What'st eh point? I can't change it.' " 'That's the point. If you don't, it will change you and it'll be your fault cause you let it. I let it. And messed up my life.' " 'Mess it up how?' " 'Forgot it.' " 'Forgot?' " 'Forgot it was mine. My life. I just ran up and down the streets wishing I was somebody else.
We had an ancient Russian acting coach at my drama school who said the worst offense you could commit was to let your subtext show. That is the point of acting, is to be saying one thing and not be allowed by society or your predicament to show what you're really feeling. In a way, I think that's why the therapy generation has killed script writing, because all you ever get is people going, "Hi, I'm feeling really angry right now."
When you do a lot of acting your entire life, you see the entire set from one point of view. To have a chance to step back and pull it all together is really exciting. You want to do it all; you want to have a hand in everything.
Be sure that the reason you are in the business is not to be a star, but because you love the craft of acting. If you have a real passion for it and acting is what you want to do every day, you are much more likely to be successful. If being a star is your primary goal, you may end up being very disappointed.
I always tell people that, if you feel like you're portraying a character really well, you're not acting. If you can reach that point where you don't feel like you're acting, than you're doing your job and the audience will believe you.
Acting is the best job in the world. Look at the way they treat you when you turn up for work. They give you breakfast and a cup of tea and ask, 'Are you all right' They tart up your face, you say somebody else's words, then pick up your check and go home. And you get days off. I tell you, it really is the way to live.
Acting is the least mysterious of all crafts. Whenever we want something from somebody or when we want to hide something or pretend, we're acting. Most people do it all day long.
I was going to school thinking I was going to do something entirely different, thought acting was just a hobby at that point, met Stanley Kubrick and was like, 'Whoa, this can be an art form, and you can really move people the way you do simply by acting.'
I'm just looking for things to steal [on working with great actors]. It's like going back to acting school. When you're around people that do it well and you get your head out of your ass, you can really learn something.
Soaps are really like boot camp for acting. You learn about the industry, you learn about being on stage, and you learn about showing up on time. The sheer volume of work, on a daily basis, blows your mind and forces you to really work that muscle of memorization and just being able to change things on your feet.
I never attended any acting school, though I've done theatre workshops a couple of times, and it has been an extremely enriching experience. But beyond that, I don't want to acquire the skills of acting and use them on camera. I'd rather learn on the job.
I went to acting school with Mario Van Peebles. For a little while, he was at the same school. So he asked me if I wanted to do [ New Jack City]. He said, "There's not really a role. We'll figure something out. But would you like to?" And I was like, "Sure." 'Cause he said it was Chris Rock and Ice T's first movie.
I love acting. It's way different from singing, but I like really put my ten thousand hours in to be really good. I want to be a premier actor. I want Oscars, I want recognition, and I want to move people just as much as I move people with my music, the same with my acting.
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