Paul Bettany Quotes

I think every actor wants a certain amount of control. Maybe not control, as such, but just to be part of the process. But it's not necessary, I guess.

I feel I should defer to the writers and the directors because they're the ones who have the complete vision. They see things through from the beginning to the end. I'm responsible for one small part, so my scope is much more limited than theirs.

I'm an artist, and I'm part of every decision in a movie.

Why hire these geniuses if they're forced to stick with the script? You want to empower your actors as collaborators.

Actors are accustomed to doing exactly what the director or writer requests us to do, and rarely get involved in that part of the process.

It's not very often that you get to come up with ideas and bring your take on the character and then actually have writers, producers, and directors pay attention to it.

I love having the control over the end result and not having to go through some committee to get something approved. I feel sorry for people, like actors, because unless you're Woody Allen or Mel Gibson, they don't have much say in the decisions that affect their work.

Being on 'Veep,' it's so much fun, and I get to put so much creative input in there, but at the end of the day, what they say, I do.

It's strange not to allow the actor some input and breathing room into what was written on the page - it is their job to make it come alive.

Whatever you do, whatever you come up with, whatever you decide on, you can go with it, and if the director or the execs, they like it, then you'll stick with it. That's a good thing, as opposed to having something that's already written.

Some artists don't want to be involved in anything outside the performing. They'll say, 'You make the decisions and tell me what to do.' I want to be in on all of it. If there's a meeting where commitments are made that I have to carry out, I want to be there.

As an actor, you never want to feel like a tool. You never want to feel like, "Hey, just come here, say this, stop here, look this way," and that's it. You want to have a little input.

Sometimes when I'm directing, the stage manager will have a good idea and that's okay with me.

The only thing I don't write is the guitar solos, but even then I might suggest one or two things.

Your choices are very important. The only thing you have as actors are your choices: the option to say no to something. You don't want to take on a really bad job and be terrible in something - especially in film, because if you're bad in it, you're bad in it forever.

When you're writing, in theory, everybody is serving you. When you're directing, you're serving everybody - in the guise of acting like everybody's serving you. But you're really serving the materials. You're serving the actors. You're in charge, but it's not free.

Mike Schur knows exactly what everything should look like but, at the same time, is super collaborative and loves working with actors that make choices and bring stuff to the table.

With everything I do, I'm 100 percent involved. I don't really let anyone just take over and hear what's going to go on. I like to have full creative control, pretty much, and really be involved with everything.

I like working with actors who make choices. Whether they get their ideas from me or from themselves, I want them to own all the choices so I can take my hand out of it.

I tend to get hired because the filmmakers like what I do, so there's usually not that much conflict about the direction.

It's not everybody that can handle firing Denzel Washington or coming to blows and saying, 'This is what's happening because I said so.' Usually, it's the reverse.

When you are making a movie, there are a zillion cooks in the kitchen, and you don't always get what you want to do. The story can always go in a different direction than what you would like. You compromise, and there is dealing and bickering.

I believe in giving actors the freedom to express themselves, and adding more to whatever is written.

There's a funny thing that, in film now, everybody thinks that the director does everything, and in TV, everybody thinks that the writer does everything, and I'm quite comfortable with that as a director. I don't mind that.

I have been parts of some films in the South where I didn't expect certain shots to be shot in a certain way. I wasn't experienced enough; I was very naive. I didn't have the standing of an actor to say that I don't want to do this shot.