A Quote by Yorgos Lanthimos

I wouldn't know what to say about something that worked in a perfect way, so I guess, in everything, I try to find what doesn't work and expose it and then see how it relates to people and their stories and their character.
And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?
The truth of the matter was stories was everything and everything was stories. Everybody told stories. It was a way of saying who they were in the world. It was their understanding of themselves. It was letting themselves know how they believed the world worked, the right way and the way that was not so right.
All of us want something in life, all of us have flaws, and all of us have strengths. So, I always try to discover those things in a character and then try to expose it in one way or another.
I try to listen to people, coaches and other pitchers, and see what they do and how they try to do it. Then I try to find a way that's comfortable for me.
A game: say something. Close your eyes and say something. Anything, a number, a name. Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what? Two women. What do they look like? Wearing black. Where are they? In a park. . . . And then, what are they doing? Try it, it's so easy, why don't you want to play? You know, that's how I talk to myself when I'm alone, I tell myself all kinds of stories. And not only silly stories: actually, I live this way altogether.
The ideal way to approach a character is to find something in yourself that relates in some way.
It's interesting to see how a lot of people don't see the other side of the coin. Since they haven't been there. Someone might suggest your character say something that they'd never say. It doesn't occur to them that there are people who think differently about something, from another perspective.
Kevin Feige and I have very smart people who work for us, who make sure that we see everything. And that we actually see everything. They see everything, tell us about it, we see it. You have to have people who work with you, who say 'you have to look at this film'. And then you look at it. You really have to look at it. You have to look at movies all the time.
When I get scored on or something doesn't go my way, I think of what I'm able to do and I'm reminded that I'm capable of doing it. I'm honest about myself - I know I'm not going to stop everything, so I don't try for perfection. I'm going to try to get there, but I know I'll never be perfect. I think that helps me to deal with everything.
I know I am a human being. I can give myself to one year for a project. That is why I say I'm primitive in the way I work, especially compared to most artists. I came to New York in 1974, knowing that it is the art center of the world. But I didn't go to find people for my work. I do the work, and the people come to me, and I learn from them. That has always been my approach - to do the job first and then to respond to it after I finish and learn what people think about it. That's how I develop, and I'm more of an outsider in that way.
Gary Ross one of those directors which lets you do what you need to do to become your character - he lets you try to do everything on your own when you're acting. Then at some points he would say, "Let's try this," or "Let's try that." Most of the time he just kind of let me try to just become my character on my own and it worked out really well.
So worried was I that people would see through the painting into my soul - and guess at secret Alison stuff - that I scraped the paint off the canvas. It was too risky to expose what everyone hides...And yet isn't that the job of the artist? Next step is to take the risk - to work more deeply. To expose that which cannot be expressed any other way. That is art. Scary and exciting.
I guess there's a certain amount of poking fun at certain characters, but that's because there is something amusing about them or about the way they behave, so I guess you can say that that's poking fun at the character. But the character is your own invention, so who cares?
I'm always like that about everything. When I try to do something, I always think, "What is the best way to do this?" Instead of taking what everyone else says and how it has been forever, it's faster for me to try myself. Of course I listen to what everybody says, and at first I'll try what people say, but I always come back to trying it my way.
That's basically how I learned everything as an actor. I was just a kid, and I worked with these actors, and I'd ask them questions, and then something would work for me, and I'd try to move forward with it.
I feel like everything in my life has somehow just fallen into perfect place at the perfect time. I don't know how it happened. It's always like right at the point of my life about to fall apart, and then something amazing happens. I don't know how, but it happens.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!