Alan Bennett Quotes

Working with any actor is like working with a monkey.

I've met actors where you think, if only you could just clean up your act and get it together, people would want to work with you. Some people are so difficult, it's just not worth working with them.

As a young actor, it's important to see how the greatest in the industry work... diva behavior is never it.

I'm challenged by people like Russell Crowe and Sean Penn who come in with such incredible discipline and power.

Actors must practice restraint, else think what might happen in a love scene.

I'm always amazed at the way some actors' behaviour is truly disgusting. That's one thing that will never happen on one of my sets if I ever direct.

My acting experience has been a benefit. What I learned from directors is how to listen to and talk with actors. I know how they think and what they need.

I think you learn something from everybody that you've worked with. I really learned how to behave on set through the people that I worked with, like the importance of being on time and the importance of being professional. I don't bring my cell phone on set; I leave it in my trailer.

The first thing that strikes a person when it comes to Southern film industries is the hard work, professionalism and the punctuality that people religiously adhere to.

What I've grown to hate in my 'old age' is shouting directors. I find anybody who screams and shouts to be difficult to work with... especially because the people who scream and shout tend to do it at runners, and not at the main actors. They make a great amount of noise and it's often at someone who is an easy target. I love working with people who are calm, even if my role is peripheral. I like people who realise that this is just a film... that we're not going over the top in No Man's land and screaming for our lives. There's just nothing to be gained by volume.

It's a lot harder to keep your cool than it is to lose it. That's on any work ethic. Even if you're a big producer on a movie set, or whatever, it's a lot harder to be a pro than be a baby on your crew. That's one work ethic to keep in mind, as one bad apple could give five people a bad day, when that one person could've stepped up their own efforts a little more and not bring anyone else down.

Actually I want to scare away method actors because it's a pain. It's like, 'Come on, what are you doing? It's not real. What are you doing? Oh, you're really brooding. Okay, good. Go to your trailer. I'll see you in an hour.'

The only way you get on in this profession is to have the reputation of doing what you are told as thoroughly as possible.

I remember something Clint Eastwood told me early on. I don't remember how old I was when you told me this, Dad. But you said, "As an actor, I never went back to my trailer. I always hung out on set and learned." That stuck with me.

all that time hanging around the sets, watching Norma Shearer make the most of her three expressions, was a help.

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

On every film I do, whenever there are other girls my age, I think it's definitely up to me to set the pace. That's because I've had a lot of experience and I think there's always a certain amount of professionalism that should be maintained. If I was catty or whatever, it would just make the whole shoot unpleasant. And what's the point of that?

I haven't worked with people who are jealous or competitive. That's a particularly deadly attitude to have when you're working on a film.

Acting is great. It's so much fun. It's a job where you literally get to do something that's a great experience, and then you try a new experience, and you take things from all of it.

As an actor, I don't know what I'm doing. I've never known what I was doing. I show up the first day, I'm scared, and I just hang out. It's like being in detention - you just wait for it to be over. Then gradually I start to figure out what's going on.

There are some actors that want you to call them by their character's name and they have no relationship with you outside of the character. But I like to get to know who I'm working with so that we can relax together, and it's more fun.

The beautiful thing about acting is that you can go your whole life if you stay current and you stay fresh.

I'm a professional at what I do. I'm an actor. I've been on enough movie sets to know the difference between a stage light and an apple box. I know the difference. Why? Because I've been around it long enough and I know.

To maintain a consistency when people come to see the band takes a lot of work; it takes a lot of discipline. I go to the studio every day and sing and play. I never did that when I was, like, 30. I'd probably have a drink and walk on - and see what comes out. But now if there's ten albums' worth of material people are coming to hear some of, and they've paid money for a ticket, you become a different person when you go on and you want to give the best show you can. You want to be better at what you do.