Paul Greengrass Quotes

Acting is not just impersonating your character.

I have just gained a deeper and deeper respect for acting and the whole art of it because you're really trying to live a life and to do the best justification for it.

Contrary to the popular misconception, the actor is not necessarily a specialist in imitating or portraying what he knows about other people. On the contrary, the actor may simply be a person who's more willing than others to reveal some truths about himself.

Acting is the ability to dream on cue.

For the actors, the talent is to serve the demands that I ask of them, to do it with naturality and truth, and to be honest when we were terrified.

Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experience.

What's interesting about the process of acting is how often you don't know what you're doing.

Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.

The art of acting is to be other than what you are.

Part of the reason of being an actor is you like playing other people's lives and exploring all the psychologies in that and the emotions.

Acting is different from stand-up. It gives you this ability to enter into another character, to create another person.

Acting is different from mental gymnastics. You try to discover as much about the character as you can, but a large area is mysterious.

Trying to be a good actor has to be involved with placing yourself imaginatively in different people's circumstances.

I wanted to get the opportunity to do what actresses do: play the inside of a person.

Your job as an actor is to piece together whatever you've learned in your training, or whatever you have experienced in your life, to piece together a person.

We are actors. We can adapt to any different look for the sake of the story and the character.

The fundamental job of the actor is to tell about the human condition, to be a voice for the truest ideas and deepest emotions.

As an actor, my body is my tool to flesh out the roles I play.

If you're good enough to play a role with emotion and universal human elements, then you'll get others coming to you.

I love acting and really taking on another person, another life.

Nobody should expect an actor to have these wonderful ideas and concepts about the world: they pretend to be other people for a living.

Some actors get by with behaving, not acting. You've got to sell the effect. I act more in the 'Nightmare' movies because it's not like me. I'm acting, not reacting.

Part of the fun of acting is the research, finding out about other people.

'Funny People' is my favorite performance of myself to date. Even though it's a comedy and there are serious moments, I really felt like Leo felt like a real person. It didn't feel like I was playing myself. Whether it's a comedy or drama, I just try to make it as realistic as possible.

It's your job as an actor to fill out the blanks. I love doing that. To fill in the bones.