A Quote by Nora Roberts

I don't base any character on a real person, and really don't do composites either. I make them up. — © Nora Roberts
I don't base any character on a real person, and really don't do composites either. I make them up.
I usually base my characters on composites of people I know. One trumpet player in SIDE MAN is really a mix of four different guys I knew growing up. Patsy , the waitress, is a mix of about three different people. I like doing it that way. I start with the characters, as opposed to plot, location, or some visual element. I write more by ear than by eye. I always work on the different sound of each character, trying to make sure each has a specific voice and speech pattern, which some writers could care less about.
I sometimes use some personality traits to fashion part of a character. Most of my characters are composites of either people I know or people in the public eye.
I try to do as much as possible for every character. Some of them, it is easier to do the research because you have either real examples that you work with, maybe some specific person that inspires you in that case, or the performances from other people, or the characters, or a character from a book.
Either you like a person or you don't like a person. I don't have to love somebody to work with them. I'm a professional person. But when you get the bonus of really liking someone and really connecting with them and really enjoying them, it's a fantastic thing.
Even when you think you can detach yourself from the characters, you don't. Because you're spending so much time trying to realize this person and make them real that they do infect you, in a way. And you do take them home and live with them, even if you think you're turning the character off. But in order to pull off a role convincingly, you wind up thinking about that person all the time, and it does sort of creep into you. And then there are things that you'll respond to, or react to in a very different way than you would normally.
I'll see a photograph of a character and try to copy them on to my face. I think I'm really observant, and thinking how a person is put together, seeing them on the street and noticing subtle things about them that make them who they are.
When I say things, when I speak on television, I'm not making stuff up. I'm not, like, sitting in the back with a notepad thinking, 'Maybe this will make them think I'm crazy'. That's how I really am, you know? My views on this and that, which I really don't want to delve into, but my views are that of the real me. There is no character.
I always tell myself that when you're playing a character, pretend they're on trial and you're giving the best witness of their life. You really need to think about every element of the character and represent them properly, as if they were a real person. You want to give 100 percent of what they're worth and what they deserve as people.
You either have to make people love you or you have to make them hate you, it doesn't really matter either way. If you can't bring that emotion out of your audience then you're not going to have them for long.
When it's a real person, you want to be as honest as you can and approach it in a similar way as you would any other character, but with that restriction and wanting to respect the boundaries of that person and not be intrusive in any way.
To create a character who really interests you, try combining aspects of your favourite fictional character with a real person.
I didn't really feel like I fit any of the parts. You either have to be this crazy beautiful supermodel lady, or you're a real character actress. I felt like I had to write things for myself, so I started doing that.
If we had any nerve at all, if we had any real balls as a society, or whatever you need, whatever quality you need, real character, we would make an effort to really address the wrongs in this society, righteously.
I did this movie right after it about the life of Chet Baker. It's called Born to Be Blue. In that situation, there's a real clear character you're drawing on. It's a real person. It's really exciting and interesting to do the research to figure out how to make that a nuanced, three-dimensional human being.
There is a sense of responsibility when you play a real-life character because there are people who will see your work, make comparisons, and judge you. They have all the rights to do that because they know the real person. They might have seen that person also.
I think anyone loves to play a character that is either evil to a certain extent or has a real definable character flaw. Those are always really fun, and, I think, funny.
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