Grant Heslov Quotes

A lot of directors straight out of film school are very technically minded, but they don't have an understanding of actors or how to talk to them.

Being an actor helps me direct a little bit, when I do that, which I haven't been able to do that much, but I plan to in the future. There are a lot of reasons for that, but certainly because I feel like you know how to talk to actors, and you know what they need from you if you've been one yourself.

I do think that's so much a part of what being a director is - in working with actors - to really try and be sensitive to what each actor needs to get to where he wants to be.

The majority of directors I've worked with didn't know how to talk to actors.

It took me a long time to realize that you have to have a bit of an interlanguage with actors. You have to give them something that they can act with.

The way that I deal with actors as a director is I just talk to them forever before we even arrive on set.

Mike Leigh taught me about making choices - as an actor, you choose between being honest and clever, and with Mike, it's always about being honest. I learned how to behave on a film set from Jim Broadbent. He was a great example of someone with a fantastic career who kept his feet on the ground.

I can speak to actors in their terms. Knowing I was an actor, they relax. You can have the best shot in the world - but, at the center of it, you still need a good performance.

Whether I'm writing the script, or someone else writes the initial draft, I'm always an actor's director first. I always try to listen to them a lot and try to put their voices into their character.

As an actor, I love working with directors. As much as I love working with other actors.

Good actors, especially when they know their character, will come in and either tell you in advance that they have an idea, or in the middle of the rehearsal or the scene they'll let it loose and you go, 'Ah that's great.'

Working with actors really depends on the actor. Most of the directors I've worked with don't really know how to speak to actors, actually; some of the best directors don't.

My acting experience has been a benefit. What I learned from directors is how to listen to and talk with actors. I know how they think and what they need.

My experience has been that actors always want to be directed.

Any director who's also acted understands the fact that every person has a different process and has to be approached differently.

Jack Bender is a real actor's director. Because he was an actor, and because he directed theater, he really enjoys that process.

If there's one thing that I know how to do, it's talk to actors. From what I have experienced working with so many different directors in so many different things, a lot of them don't really know how to talk to us.

The great thing about first-time actors is that they listen. If you say something in a scene, they were listening to it. They weren't thinking about the return line.

As an actor, my No. 1 focus was to be on the same page with the writer, director, and producers.

I think acting is boring because you have to sit for a long time. And being a director I am used to running around and being busy on sets. I lack the actor software.

I don't think I had a script on 'King Kong.' But usually you read a script and then you go and audition for it. It's rare when there's no script. I sort of like the latter better, because I'm more successful at it.

As a filmmaker I find it much more rewarding to work with actors who are classically trained. It's about the work and only the work.

I'm the girl that waits for the director to say, 'I like that,' or 'Can you boost it up?,' or 'Can you pull it down?' I'm that kind of actor. I started in theater, so that's the feedback that I'm accustomed to. It's the feedback that I really thrive off of.

It's a whole other way of working when you work in films: You know exactly the arc of your character.

I don't think it's necessary to be an actor to get great performances out of an actor. But I do think it helps me as a director because I know what I like as an actor, and I try to get that to the actors who I'm working with.