Viola Davis Quotes

I'm an actor - I want to be known for that.

One of the greatest things I've learned, as an actor, was how to talk to actors.

I realized that I was a really, really terrible actor. I was like, "I'd better be myself."

My Mother's an actress, and she's always told me, "Boy, you're an actor." I would look forward to seeing if I'm any good. I want to be good at it, that's the only thing.

You'd be surprised how much being a good actor pays off.

The actors make the film. They're the ones that take this theoretical movie that's in your head and make it real. The success of a film is entirely on their shoulders. I admire them, because acting is such a difficult thing to do, and I personally can't understand it.

I'm not gonna become Ann Bancroft or Meryl Streep and have all the burden that being a "serious actress" entails.

I play a guy who is 40. And I am a very good actor, because I'm 41.

Being an actor is really odd. So, don't take that as your reality - take your family, take your friends, take your relationships - that's your reality. And hang on to them.

I love working with actors. I love to see what they're going to do. There's just something very thrilling and satisfying with being involved with something, all the way through the process [making movie].

There's nothing wrong with being an actor, if that's what a man wants. But there's everything wrong with achieving an exalted status simply because one photographs well and is able to handle dialogue".

I never not wanted to become an actress.

I've never thought of myself as an actor, so somebody recognizing me for that would be a real shock.

When I say that the acting is sort of like a normal acting experience, I'm just talking about the interacting in actual scenes, like doing dialogue.

I never will believe there is such a thing as a great actor.

Working with any actor is like working with a monkey.

It's not a movie, no private screening This method acting, well, I call that living

I was trained to be an actor, not a star.

Actors are easy to like. They are generally sociable, thoughtful people.

I'm fascinated with actors, and I've never quite understood the process.

Central to being an actor is pretending, and the adventure of it all. That's why you become a junkie for different kinds of situations.

Working on camera is a different ballgame in the sense that it's far more intimate work, but the basics and the foundations of being able to create something that isn't necessarily your own instincts - is a character that you have inside your head - whether you're talking about television or film or theater, that still has to be the grounding work.

You have to come in and be that character when you walk into the room. That's what one of my first acting teachers taught me. You know, don't go in there being Jennifer and then expect to flip and change, because they're not going to have that imagination.

An actor is an actor is an actor. The less personality an actor has off stage the better. A blank canvas on which to draw the characters he plays.

There are different kinds of actors, and movie actors tend to be exceedingly precise and mechanical in a way that's really admirable for me to watch. You always learn from them.