Joanne Woodward Quotes

No good actor ever stops learning. He is constantly evolving.

I was terrible in my first play. After that experience, I had to face that I wasn't good enough to play with the big boys. I had to go away and learn, so I worked in regional theater for three years. I even understudied at the Kennedy Center.

The trick to acting is not to show off; it's to think the thoughts of the character. I was lucky because when I started acting, it was doing jobs above pubs. I learned to act in anonymity, so by the time people saw me, I knew what I was doing. I was crap for years, but no one saw me being crap. It's a trade you learn.

I think if you're an actor, then you can work on stage - but if you've never done it before, you're going to have picked up a few things that you're going to need to change when you're working on stage.

My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.

I hardly knew anything when I first arrived. I had to learn how to act as I went along. After about a year I got a grip on what acting was all about and it started coming straight from my heart; I wasn't just saying the words any longer.

I like to do theater and hopefully be effective. Most actors, at least contemporary actors of my generation, can't do it. They don't have the chops.

The single most important thing in learning my craft was being on the stage.

From an acting standpoint, when I was a kid, I thought I knew everything there was to know. As the years go by, this craft becomes more intensive as I get older. You realize how much more there is to know and to learn, and how much better you can get, if you really work at it.

It took many years of acting classes to get even remotely comfortable, but that's OK. It helped me so much on a personal level, not to mention professionally.

For me, it was much more important to continue to learn my craft as an actor and get a bit of flesh on the bones.

Eventually, if something pops up, that's cool, but I still wanna continue the process of learning how to be a good actor.

I don't feel like I properly started acting until I did my first play, 'Tusk, Tusk.'

I feel like any time you, as an actor, can be surrounded by other amazing actors, you can't do anything but grow.

The wonderful thing about drama school is that it stretches you in a way the industry doesn't.

An amateur can be great in front of the camera, but you need an education to get on stage where you have full control as an actor.

I got into acting classes. I didn't want to just go by luck.

As an actor, you need everything you can get to be truly scary and truly memorable.

I am a proud participant of the Spencer Tracy School of Acting: Know your lines, don't bump into the furniture.

I would absolutely recommend for actors to start in the theater because it establishes a foundation in your craft that you can build off of.

A stage actor has to be 10% aware of the audience as he's performing.

What I always loved about theater is that that's an experience that a company of actors just sinks itself into for weeks, and you really get to work on the material, and by the time you're in front of an audience, you really own it.

People often argue about this. Obviously one of the skills in performance is acting, and you can't expect every Romeo to really be in love with their Juliet!

My advice to young actors is probably to do some theatre; definitely do that. I keep running into these actors who have never been on stage, and it's invaluable for an actor. What you will learn about yourself is huge.

There are so many actors that I meet that don't act enough. Definitely take class, definitely train - that's the most important thing you do. Build your craft. Become better.