Denis Leary Quotes

Good actors can tell you more about your play than 1,000 hours alone at your desk.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

That is one of the reasons one enjoys acting. Now and again, you get scenes where you work with somebody really good and you have a good time trying to make it really work and really work well.

I love actors, and I love the casting process. It's funny, like, some writers don't like actors because, I think, they are the faces of the show, and so you feel sort of secondary, but I love actors because they elevate the material; they make it better.

Any good production team is going to allow an actor to breathe life into the characters - that's why they hired that woman, that man, whatever the case.

With most good scripts and good shows, they expect the actor to bring some of their ideas to the backstory of the character. It's always a good collaboration between the actor and the writer and the director to try stuff out during the process.

As a filmmaker I find it much more rewarding to work with actors who are classically trained. It's about the work and only the work.

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 do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

As an actor, you are in a unique position because you're not only memorizing dialogue but really embodying it. You naturally feel the rhythm of good writing.

You know, I've never been much of a method actor. I feel like, with every project I go in extremely prepared and I like to have a good time.

I can speak to actors in their terms. Knowing I was an actor, they relax. You can have the best shot in the world - but, at the center of it, you still need a good performance.

Actors aren't stupid, mostly, and if there's a sensibility and an aesthetic that a director's going for, if you're aware of that too, you can do things to help that.

I think acting really helps as a director. It's just no question, because you totally understand the acting process.

As an actor, you can think your way out of a lot of good things sometimes. I trust my instincts as an actor, and I trust the instincts of the creators, so it's a good combination.

I've acted with all types, I've directed all types. What you want to understand, as a director, is what actors have to offer. They'll get at it however they get at it. If you can understand that, you can get your work done.

As an actor, you really want to respect and honor the script. You want to try to be in the moment and you also realize that you're one part of a bigger picture and when they call action, you have your dance.

A large part of acting is just pretending. You get to work with these other great make-believers, all making believe as hard as they can.

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

To be able to work with actors who are doing such good work, not only makes it easier for you, but it makes you better.

I like to rehearse with the actors scenes that are not in the script and will not be in the film because what we're really doing is trying to establish their character, and good acting to me is about reacting.

In every film, whether it's a fictional character or not, you create an idea of the character and for me I always do a bad impersonation to start with.

All actors bring something unexpected to the role because they have to translate what's on the page and make a real character out of the black-and-white text that's there in the script.

I think what makes a good actor's director is somebody who understands what I'm doing and is respectful of it, but who also has a vision and is directing me toward their vision in a way that feels productive.

A lot of directors want to storyboard you, whereas the best way to get a performance out of an actor is a collaborative process where you listen to the actor's input.