Erland Josephson Quotes

There is work, and there is pleasure; acting is pleasure.

I'd love to have written a film and it to be regarded as good. I'd just like to be doing things that are good, really. I think that's all you can aim for. I find it odd when actors say they just want to do films or plays or television. A lot of films aren't very good; a lot of television isn't very good; a lot of plays aren't very good.

The further away you can get away from yourself as an actor, the more fun you have.

There's something about that relationship between actor and audience. Whether you get it on Broadway or in a fine local playhouse, there's no greater drug. Every time I get to do TV, film and a play in the same year, it's my dream come true.

What was important to me was entertaining the audience, and whether that meant winning, losing, singing, or whatever it was on the live show we were doing every week, which was awesome, I was game for it.

I enjoyed acting and marveled that one could get paid for doing it.

All my life I wanted to play music with love to every member of the audience.

I would like to continue making music and acting in projects that give me a lot of satisfaction.

I'm a little less hungry as an actor than I used to be. When you're a director, you're the conductor of the orchestra, and when you're an actor, you're playing the violin. There's a thrill to each of them, but as the conductor, you get the fuller sound.

When you act for a living, you are lucky enough to get to say things you really want to say. You get lines that you look forward to, lines that jump out like a jack-in-the-box; you're thinking: 'Wait till you hear this.'

The thing about acting is you don't want to let on how enjoyable it is or then everybody would want to become an actress. But it really is. It's a pleasure to go and exchange your identity.

On so many levels, acting in film and TV is so much the sum of its parts, and somewhere in there, there's an alchemical thing that makes something happen or not - that makes something connect or not. Now, of course you want to make work that people see, but the enjoyment I get out of acting is playing characters.

Acting is a strange profession, and, yes, sometimes I struggle with its worth, its value in the world.

A lot of guys really I get the feeling don't care whether you like their show or not, you know. I want people to enjoy what I do, and understand what I'm doing is for their enjoyment, it's all I can ask for.

There is less pressure as a character actor. It generally means that you will be acting for all of your life, which is my intention. It is not my intention to just be a rich and famous person, that would be pretty boring.

I miss the physicality of drumming. There's immediateness about it that I'm always striving for in my acting. Maybe I'm in the wrong profession. I certainly wish I could spend more time pursuing music. It feels like a part of me I'm neglecting.

When I'm writing a song, it gives me more actual pleasure to hear someone else sing it than do it meself.

I've always enjoyed the physical side of acting.

As actors, the thing we have to fight, more than even the business part of making movies, is boredom.

I have enjoyed acting very much, because I know it's not for real!

It is my greatest joy to live a really good part, even though it imposes great strain. An artist is tired but proud when he has created a great work of art. So it is with the actor who really lives a great role and is proud of the part he played.

I love acting. I can't believe how fun it is and how in-the-zone I am when I'm doing it.

I'd like to be a steadily working actor and to do as many things as possible. I'm really enjoying the life.

No matter what part of the business you want to be in, live performances are the most thrilling.

Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I enjoy anything where you get to flex your acting muscles, you get to really go for it.