John Hillcoat Quotes

I quite like some of the movies that have many characters in them.

I think it's fair to say I'm attracted to playing characters who are rather intense.

I've always liked shows that have a strong cast of secondary characters. One of the greatest examples ever I would say is 'The Simpsons.' If you think about it, you could name 100 characters recognizable from that show. I think 'Scrubs' has done a good job of having a strong team coming off the bench.

I like shows that are ensemble-based, that explore the humanity of every character.

Look at the Coen brothers. All their minor characters are as interesting as their protagonists. If the smaller characters are well-written, the whole world of the film becomes enriched. It's not the size of the thing, but the detail.

I've had some marvelous parts, but I'm also asked to play characters who are kind of superficial people.

I don't know if likeable, pleasant characters have enough conflict for me to want to do them. I admire those people, but I've never been that kind of screen presence who can do nothing. I need to do something.

Usually I'm frustrated when I look at my films and I don't believe that I've made a real transformation beyond my usual sets of gestures and expressions. I still have this nagging feeling that it's me, that I didn't create a unique character.

I don't really worry about the size of the part much any more. It's nice to have more time to work on the character, and to have big scenes to play. But if there's something playable there, and if it's interesting to do, then that's nice.

Every actor has to love and loathe the character he plays.

'Star Trek' was always a little bit closed emotionally. I never connected to the characters.

As actors, we want to choose somebody who has conflicts. I can't be always playing the girl next door. What's the challenge in that?

Supporting characters add depth to a story, and great actors leave their imprint with the audience.

I don't mind playing the same character, but if it's not well done, then I'm not interested.

I didn't want to be seen as just a guy on a list. I'm interested in good scripts, scripts that are about something, scripts that move your acting along.

Every actor wants to have a character that changes, that has some kind of movement, that gets from point A to point B, that doesn't just supply one note.

Oftentimes what happens is that the writer understands one character, but they don't understand the other one, and the other one ends up not being written as well.

They did cast me as an ingenue once, and the novelty was nice. But I said, 'There is nothing here to play!' I really like getting into the meat of a role.

But I also wanted to give them an intelligent emotional journey, without having to suspend reality - to be able to look at those characters and see reasons for the relationships and why what happens happens.

I'm not looking to do 'Half Nelson' next, but to play anything that's a little more complex is really fun.

But I'm attracted to roles where I get to really go in and explore a character.

The big difference with Juliette and the others in that film is that she goes beyond acting.

I try to get roles that challenge me in what I can do and who I think I can portray. For me, it's about creating characters with really fascinating stories, because that's what I like to watch on TV.

I try to distinguish my characters from each other.

The characters, to me, in 'Homeland' are not one note in any way.