James Lecesne Quotes

As an actor, I know it is my job to shape myself for a role - any role.

Unless it's a specific accent, or something about physicality you have to change, I am generally not such a conscious actor.

There are two schools of thought: There are those actors who explain to you that they know exactly how they're going to do the part... And then there is the other method, which is to have no method at all. This is mine.

I don't bring my life into a character at all.

I'm not a method actor, but I'm a big research kind of actor.

I don't do method acting. If I play a farmer, I'm not gonna spend 3 weeks on a chicken farm. That's a bit too much for me.

Once you embody the language, the character comes really naturally, especially when you put the costume on.

I act according to the requirements of the character, and if I try to play the role, then I play it truthfully. In my daily life, I'm a laid-back, peaceful guy. I'm just doing my job to act.

A different script calls for different things. It always takes me a long time to get to know the part, and know the logic behind the words. I have to be with the script for quite a long time before things start to fall into place, before they become part of the character.

Part of an actor's job is to draw up a back story.

The actor cannot afford to look only to his own life for all his material nor pull strictly from his own experience to find his acting choices and feelings.

What we do as actors is we go through phases where you superficially learn all this information.

How do I act so well? What I do is I pretend to be the person I'm portraying in the film or play.

The trick to acting is not to show off, it's to think the thoughts of the character.

I think that when you first read material or you first read a script or story and know you might be playing a part, it's important not to see yourself because it should be a challenge enough that it doesn't come easy.

I try to create as many circumstances outside of set that help me fall into character when I get onto set.

The process of rehearsal means you learn so much and really get the chance to develop your work on a character.

I don't sit around and study the pages of a script over and over again.

I like to rehearse. We did a lot of rehearsals for 'Moneyball,' but it is really individual to the actor. It's not like, 'Here is my process, everybody. Fit in.'

I don't think I've ever watched a movie to prepare for a role.

As an actor, I always like some tension, some distance, between me and the character I'm playing.

Obviously, in theatre, you work chronologically, so you kind of know where your emotions are supposed to be, and you're always on top of things, and as an actor, you always know what's coming next.

When you rehearse a play, you spend four weeks with one goal in mind - to wean the actor away from you. You want the actor to become completely independent and to understand all the emotional and psychological moves within the character.

The more I'm here in L.A. talking to people, the more I believe that what I've been doing is right, and that's the belief that you have to judge a role from the character, by the script.

Any actor would love to just pick up a script and be like, 'I can connect to this person, and I can see myself playing him.'