Top 1200 Stage Actors Quotes & Sayings - Page 18

I'm very quiet off stage. I think I'm a pretty boring person. I'm not super talkative; I spend a lot of my time running and zoning out. I spend so much time trying to write jokes and 'be on,' so when I'm finally off stage, I just want to sit.

When movies work or a TV series, when they really work, it's because of the collaborative effort. Competition is the death knell for anything, in my opinion. Especially in Hollywood. When actors are competing against each other, or when directors are competing against actors, it's usually the beginning of the end.

I think actual death will be a lot easier than dying on stage. Cause - you know - if you do [actual death] right, you can go looking good. Maybe with a little quip [like]: 'I loved everybody.' But dying on stage...Oh, God!

I used to pre-rehearse everything and then bring my pre-rehearsed performance to the set. Now, I'm learning to let it happen in the moment. American actors are much better at that than British actors. If I knew how to trust myself, I would have been much more relaxed.

I don't really write with living actors in mind. I guess I write for dead actors. I'll think of like, you know, Burt Lancaster would be good in this part, and so on. With 'L.A. Confidential,' it was like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if Dean Martin played the Kevin Spacey part?'

My experience over the years with working with people who are not actors or not trained actors is that you have to get to know them well enough to see what they have that's translatable onto the screen. So you're constantly calibrating to play to their strengths. And the key is to never ask them to do things that are beyond their abilities or are really far away from who they are at their core.

Writing for the stage is different from writing for a book. You want to write in a way that an actor has material to work with, writing in the first person not the third person, and pulling out the dramatic elements in a bigger way for a stage presentation.

For many playwrights, they write the plays anyway because they've got to be, the work has been started, it's got to be finished, but we all long, I think, to see the plays fleshed out on stage and I'm exactly like that. Yes, I'm not satisfied until I actually see it on stage.

In the old days when I first was coming up, you would turn up on set in the morning with your coffee, script, and hangover and you would figure out what you were going to do with the day and how you were going to play the scenes. You would rehearse and then invite the crew in to watch the actors go through the scenes. The actors would go away to makeup and costume and the director and the DP would work out how they were going to cover what the actors had just done.

It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil - which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.

The thing with animation is that you record the actors like a radio show and then the animators become actors in their own way because it's their job to take this puppets and make them seem alive. They bring their own personalities to the way they move these puppets.

All actors may not be stars, but all stars are actors, and I can vouch for that.

I am happy when I am on stage. I like that wave of blue. I like the eardrum splitting sounds of loud screams. I like to be able to breathe along with the members. Each and every stage is a good reminiscence and a happy memory

I had to come out on stage with my little staff and robe and I had this sun on top of my head that my mom made - that was the first time I was ever on stage singing in front of anybody. I realized that I was one of the best acts of the night but I didn't give singing much thought after that. I was really into playing baseball.

I've always believed that as actors, one of the biggest advantages of being in the film business - not just of being actors, but being in this industry - is the fact that you get to travel so much, and you get to see places that you probably would not if you went just as a tourist.

I learned my business in the theater and in television, particularly working with the actors. You can learn much more in the theater than directing a movie, because then you have no time when you are shooting a movie to really work with the actors. You have to learn this craft somewhere else.

I read somewhere that when I go on stage, people realize that they're not me and they feel better. When I walk off the stage, people know who I really am. I'm not saying it's great comedy, cool comedy or better comedy - but that's what I do, and I do it first for myself.

All good actors are very bright. You can't be stupid and a good actor. You may be inarticulate, you may not be highly educated, but all good actors are quick-witted, some of them dazzlingly so. All you do is guide them.

I think one of the coolest things about the job is the level of trust we have for each other. The actors fully trust that the writers will write amazing episodes, and the writers trust that the actors will follow their instincts with the characters.

This stage in the life of the buzz is truly fabulous. It’s not even a buzz anymore. It’s a roar. The world opens up and everything’s yours right here, right now. You’ve probably heard the expression—All good things must come to an end. Well, this stage in the life of the buzz never heard anything close to that. This stage says, 'I will never end. I am indestructible. I will last fabulously forever.' And, of course, you believe it. To hell with tomorrow. To hell with all problems and barriers. Nothing matters but the Spectacular Now.

When you walk onto the pitch at Old Trafford, it is not just a pitch, it is a stage. If my father could see me on that stage, I think he would be very proud. I was always kind of chasing him, and I think even though he's not here, he helped me to get to this place.

There is this thing called Actors Access, which is run by the breakdown services. What they do is they put up casting notices that are available to everyone. Because there's thousands and thousands of actors and there are student films and grad student films and, sometimes, some small independent projects that are on there.

Actors don't make a project; a project makes the actors.

I love actors and I understand what has to happen within a scene. Any scene is an acting scene and actors never act alone, so there has to be an interchange. If it's a dialog scene, if it's a love scene, it doesn't matter because you need to establish a situation.

Actors know what actors are insecure about - and they're all insecure.

I learned more about who I am and how to be a great worker - and a great artistic worker - from doing student theater. I was a stage manager. I was an assistant stage manager. I was on the running crew. I did probably 25 shows at Northwestern - all musicals, of course.

The first time I can remember being on a stage in front of an audience was one that came with triumph, adrenaline and a childlike tragedy. The first time I was on a stage, it wasn't even a music concert. It was a magic show. That being said, the life I lead now isn't what you would call 'destiny'.

I think that most actors, and they're a very strange lot actors, very strange people, but I think that they attempt to keep in touch with the child.

I know some really great actors who are pretty judgmental people, pretty critical people. But they're great actors. When they're acting, that's the craft.

I can't believe Tina Turner actually was on the same stage. I can't believe I set foot on the same stage, and it's going to be an album, people are going to buy it, and it's going to be a video.

See, the thing that bothers me with young actors, young actors of color specifically, is that they see movies and television, and they figure that's all it is to it. They have no respect for the craft. They want to be, you know, movie stars or whatever. And I worry that we're losing a certain quality, you know?

I love festivals in that people seem to let their hair down more. I love that people run from stage to stage. I love going as a performer because you get to see band that you wouldn't necessarily go see.

One thing I think is really important is chemistry, and if actors have chemistry, audiences will pick up on that. Audiences will root for characters that don't even exist as a couple because the actors' chemistry is so strong.

I don't have any favourite's as all the actors that come to the industry are all well trained in acting. But I like Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor as they are amazing actor and have a great screen presence, besides Ranveer Singh is one of the actors I like as he has immense energy that makes him stand out in crowed.

As far as my street cred goes, I'll always have that, because I always hang with the kids. I'll jump right off the stage and buy them a beer. I'll be a star on stage, but I'll always hang with the kids.

I think one of the coolest things about the job is the level of trust we have for each other. The actors fully trust that the writers will write amazing episodes, and the writers trust that the actors will follow their instincts with the characters

I was on stage and I was like I will pay someone to do my time, not only will I expect NOT to be paid, but I will pay someone if I can run off stage right now. It was so bad.

I have sung songs for several actors in movies, including Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Unfortunately, even after singing songs for their movies like 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'Raees,' the two actors have not lip-synced them on screen.

People can now get to see anything they want, in any shape or form, anywhere, on laptop, iPad or 'phone. What's not controllable, though, is the live element. So there's still a real thrill for TV viewers in watching actors pulling it all together and performing live, and a real challenge for the actors.

If it's not a high-concept movie, if you're not having outer space people come down and blow stuff up, then there's a pool of 15 to 20 male actors and 10 to 15 female actors. And if you don't get one of them, you really need to reexamine your budget and the story you're trying to tell. It's frustrating.

I think that if you know people who are performers on stage and actresses or whatever it may be, the bottom line is what you do on stage. You just take on a different persona - that's what makes her so successful. Lights come on, and suddenly, it's Britney Spears, and the lights go off, and she's just Britney.

Normally, I'd believe that the saying 'There's no small parts, only small actors' is a load of crock because, more often than not, actors relegated to the small-part category stay in 'Who was that guy from that thing' purgatory - however, '90s sitcom 'Friends' proved that the saying is true.

It is now up to us to see that we embark on the next stage leading to political unity, which I think is the consequence of economic unity, so that Europe can in the future also play a political role on the international stage, leading even as far as a common defence policy.

Studios tend to approach popular actors because they want to grab eyeballs. When it comes to the south actors, this may work because they cater to a different kind of audience, and it might make a difference there. However, in the Hindi film space, having a famous name only works in specific cases.

I don't see myself as one type of actor. When you get one role, you start to get cast in that role for awhile because that's what people have seen you do, and have hopefully seen you do it successfully. And so, it becomes an easier thing to see you as, for casting directors and directors, and they start to think of you as that particular person or type of character. But, for me, I'm just an actor, first and foremost. The actors I respect are the real character actors, who are the real chameleon actors that completely change from role to role.

I was so aware of the stage clothes versus the everyday-life clothes, and the extremeness of the stage clothes that my parents had designed. Even coming across my dad's old Beatles suits from Savile Row and the history attached to them - the masculinity and simplicity compared to the '70s glitz and glamour of Wings.

Actors become actors because they loved entertaining their family by putting on the lampshade and dancing around as a kid, ... That's not my personality. For me, the fun part of making movies is seeing it as a director sees it. I like the architecture of movies. I like knowing what's coming and working to set that up.

As actors, we have the opportunity to work with many directors. Directors only work with themselves and other actors. They never know what it is like to work with another director. So that relationship that one has with a director is entirely always the king.

I love that process in which there is no safety net. Then the actor also can allow mistakes, because there's no such a thing as a mistake. You're working with good actors, that thing that starts as a mistake becomes actually the life of what is going to follow in the scene. I find that it is fantastic, and for me it is easier than for the actors.

The only question we should ask is, 'Are they good?' I've met great actors, black and white, and I've met bad actors, black and white.

The dream would be to work with my two favorite actors, Daniel Day Lewis and Cate Blanchett. Or playing Joaquin Phoenix's brother in a film. Basically anything where I get to act opposite actors like these; ones who bring a certain caliber to their work and literally morph into the character they are playing.

A lot of the times the first take was the best, because the actors are not analyzing themselves as much; they just do it. I believe in happy accidents and I'm not necessarily into actors getting the dialogue exactly as I wrote it; I'm much more into them understanding the motivations and have it come out in a natural way, and maybe catch something that I didn't expect.

If the audience gets everything, if they see the photography and notice that it is good, then the story goes out the window, but if you become involved with the lives of the actors and forget that you are seeing mechanical devices on a huge screen - forget the make-believe - this is the job of the director to involve the audience with the actors.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the incredible diversity of talent that's out there - there are so many great actors from all over Asia, from Singapore and Hong Kong to the Philippines and Mainland China, not to mention many great Asian-American actors who are eager for fun and challenging roles.

I love working with other actors and other people - you know, stand-up - it's lonely; it's just you out there and the audience. But it's fun working with other actors. I love doing that, too.

When somebody can't reveal what they're after - whether by word or by how the camera is set up, lighting, etcetera - it's like an electronic beep beep; it interferes very much with what we actors can do. And, after all, the director wants the actors to be bringing forth the best that they can, according to whatever vision he has.

My first summer in college, I interned for Arena Stage in D.C. and taught a disastrous class on standup comedy to middle schoolers at the Arena Stage camp. I had never taught anything before, and needless to say, I quickly lost control of the class.

When I made those wild-ass comments, on stage, about then-Senator Hillary Clinton and then-senator Barack Obama, I don't know if you can grasp the degree of adrenaline and intensity and sheer over-the-top animal spirit and attitude that I live on stage. I've got to take that deep breath.

One of my favorite actors is Paul Newman. He could tell so much with a single look, whereas some actors would need an entire five page monologue to give off the feeling of what he could say with just a single look.

I think it just seems like something that somebody else does, like they raise actors somewhere in Ohio, and once in a while, people go and pick their actors and move to Hollywood. It seemed like such a distant idea. But then, as I started growing up, I'm like, 'Oh, this is an occupation.'