Tom Irwin Quotes

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

Sometimes I think of movie acting as advanced pretend.

In theater, you're playing characters. You believe you're somebody else, and you're acting.

I'm an actor and my job is to interpret.

I joined a drama group when I was eight. It was the first time I'd made the connection with an audience.

I have learned that acting is not about beauty.

I still feel I belong to the theatre. There is nothing more challenging and exciting for an actor than performing before a live audience. The stage is the real testing ground for an actor.

The only thing we are as actors are messengers. That's all we are. Correct? We are delivering the playwright's intention through the concept of the director. And I come on stage; if I feel confident in the role, then I give it away.

That's always something that's really important for an actor - to find an opportunity to do a scene where there is a moment like that, where you manage to connect with everyone.

You've got to love acting and that's true for me. I love the idea of getting on stage and getting in front of a camera.

An actor should be able to create the universe in the palm of his hand.

The job of an actor is the same in all of them, really. I mean, you're just creating a character that you hope people will believe, so it doesn't make that much of a difference really.

An actor is supposed to be a sensitive instrument.

When you're performing, you're playing to the back row. With acting, you have to be more nuanced.

So what's so enticing about doing a play is that you get to do that thing that got you into acting in the first place... There's a real attraction to being able to play, to just play. And that's something that theater affords you.

I think actors are brave souls that have to use parts of themselves that I'm just not comfortable doing anymore.

Making a film or doing a play are completely different experiences and entirely fulfilling, but completely unique. I also think one complements the other. People often say that theater is about flexing your muscles, and is actually real acting, whereas I sort of disagree.

Actors have to make you believe that it's happening for the first time and all that jazz and make it human and at the same time entertain you.

I find a similarity between performing music onstage and acting - a reality of emotion.

Acting is a matter of giving away secrets.

With acting, you are a small part of the creative process, and sometimes it is hard to feel like you are making an impact.

I'm an actor, and I'm supposed to reflect real people.

The actor should not play a part. Like the Aeolian harps that used to be hung in the trees to be played only by the breeze, the actor should be an instrument played upon by the character he depicts.

What I learned is that acting is to a large extent about trying to stave off self-doubt long enough to be natural and real onstage.

It's important to listen to the actor who is there on the stage and living it.