Keira Knightley Quotes

I'm not a huge kind of visual director. For me, it's all about the acting. There's no greater buzz than working with actors and seeing what they can do and how much they can improve on what you'd written. That will always be on the top of my list. It's a real privilege to see it live before anyone else sees it.

As an actor, I love the feeling of being on set and the camaraderie of working on something together.

'Cheers' was great. They paired me up with Shelley Long on this tiny bar set for the final audition. That was my first really big one, and we just clicked instantly - I still think I got the part because of Shelley.

It doesn't matter if you're doing a studio movie or you're doing an independent movie. When you get to set and you're doing a scene, it's always going to be the same job. I really don't think about my career, in terms of planning it out and what this does for me.

I think the most important thing for an actor is reading the script and trying to figure out if you can play that character well. The last thing on my mind is if the director made good movies previously. It's not my job to know if that director's last movie was any good - it's my job to know if I can play the role.

I've worked with actors who treat the first two takes like rehearsals. And that's okay. If the camera is on you and we're doing a scene where I'm off camera, I'm treating that as a rehearsal.

There's nothing like working with the best actors possible, and if you have a piece of material like, 'Long Way Down' or 'Love Punch,' which allows you to play, then it's just a joy to go to work.

I did a lot of theater, so especially as an on-camera camera actor, there are so many things that aren't in your toolbox. They're somebody else's job. You think about editors and rhythm. Volume isn't even in your control.

It is hard sometimes to see how other actors are working when you are working with them.

The more and more I work with really great actors, the more it's about opening yourself up to what they bring.

I'm not the kind of actress who asks a lot of questions of my directors unless it's something I really need to know.

I try to create an environment where, when we step onto the set, we're all in character.

Working with actors is something I've never done before. I find it tremendous. It's hard work.

Most of the film directors expect their actors to want to work fast.

I always think that the deal, once I do the script, sort of the experience I go through writing, which is everything you can imagine, but I always think it's the one thing I can do when I'm directing is say is that it's all about the actors, that I can say, 'We're all here to serve the actors.'

Part of an actor's job, in my opinion, is adjust to the characteristics of the director and try to understand to how he tries to work.

As a director, it is important to understand the actor's process.

Anyone who has been given the gift of being opposite an actor who gives and gives, it just makes you better.

I'm definitely one of those actresses who comes to a set knowing how I want to do a scene, and I definitely love input from my directors and my writers.

In theater, you get to rehearse several weeks, you memorize everything, and by the time you open, you know what the play is. In film, it's almost the opposite. You do your work on your own and maybe have a couple of minutes to rehearse. When the camera rolls, you generally don't know what's going to happen.

One of the exciting and enjoyable aspects of acting is being in the environment with another actor.

Acting is the work of two people - it's only possible when you have the complicity, the help, even the manipulation of a director.

If a script is good, you are 10 steps into the part just reading it. But my choices are not all down to my taste. It is about people you have worked with before.

The director, of course, was Bob Fosse. But again, I worked with my father to prepare for the role.

I also want the chance to work with some of the best actors in the business, because that's where you can learn so much by just being on a set and getting a feel for how they approach their role and how they work with you.