Joe Johnston Quotes

Acting is a symbiotic process, it is an amalgamation of many many things put together and when there is a call for action, that's when you surrender and the moment of truth comes out, that's when you perform. That is the process for every good actor.

I do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

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.

I love an acting challenge, and I love getting to sit down with my script and do all my drama work.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

I think acting really helps as a director. It's just no question, because you totally understand the acting process.

Of course, I love chats with various actors about the process and how they do it. To me, if it's not on the camera, if it's not there, it's not worth it. It really just isn't worth it.

People think memorizing lines is hard, when that's the last thing you worry about. You get that done, and then you've got to worry about the internal stuff, which is the challenging part.

A lot of actors, whatever movie you're working on, you make up a back story just for your own, to work off, even if the audience doesn't have it revealed to them. I think it's important that the audience makes up their own mind.

Acting is not just impersonating your character.

The pleasure from acting comes from having great writing to work with. If it's well written and the character is interesting, then, as an actor, that's the raw material I need.

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.

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

As an actor, you are in a unique position because you're not only memorizing dialogue but really embodying it. You naturally feel the rhythm of good writing.

Everything, I think, about acting is based on imagination.

My approach to acting is that I am totally intuitive. I read the script and I get it. If I don't get it, I can't do it.

My mentor Jon Simmons introduced me to the Stanislavski system, which is so heavy on back-story. So you write and write and write these back stories about a character and then you throw it away. So then on set, if it doesn't come, then you didn't do your work.

Acting is something different to everybody. I just know that if you watch an actor or actress getting better and better, I think that's them just understanding themselves better and better.

See, that's the thing: I'm not one of those actors who thinks, 'God, I've got to improvise and make it my own.' No, my first job as an actor is to take what's written and make it work. And then, if they want me to improvise, I'll do that.

First of all, the actor needs to get out of the character's way. You follow the character without judgment or prejudice or preconceived ideas.

When there's no technical problems, if you did the right casting, and the scene is well written, the actor will give you a strong performance with his intuition right from the start.

Creating a role is an interesting thing - each show or each situation is different.

Actors are responsible to the people we play.

All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That's what makes theatre live. That's why it persists.

With any actor, if you know your character well enough, you'll know pretty much what he would say under any circumstance, or whatever situation might rear its head.