George Wendt Quotes

With acting, I always feel conscious of what I'm doing.

When a performance isn't working, it's usually because the actor is trying to do something and they're not able to express their idea very well. It's a muddled expression.

On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact.

It takes me some time to get into what I am doing - since I am not a trained actor, I don't have that skill. I have to think of what I am doing and how it comes through.

Acting is what happens on the way.

One was never taught how to begin at drama school. But all it required was one intake of breath.

The job of an actor is the same in all of them, really. I mean, you're just creating a character that you hope people will believe, so it doesn't make that much of a difference really.

Movie acting is about covering the machinery. Stage acting is about exposing the machinery. In cinema, you should think the actor is playing himself, if he's that good. It looks very easy. It should. But it's not, I assure you.

Anytime I audition for something, it's always a question of whether or not the people I'm auditioning for understand I'm an improviser and I like to do that, and if they like that or if they just want someone who's going to do what's written.

Performing, for me, has always been a very inner process.

In film, you're always using your tools, your body, your voice, your emotions, but onstage, you use them in a different way.

I'm interested in the acting and staging of specific emotions, and so I work with actors. It's a small proportion of what I do, but it's always what people seem to focus on.

The one thing for an actor that is complete death is if you're bored, because that boredom will show in your work.

There are a lot of things that make up a performance, a lot of technical things. It isn't always just about pulling it up from the darkest recesses of your mind or your heart. It's your experience and your observation.

The actor should not play a part. Like the Aeolian harps that used to be hung in the trees to be played only by the breeze, the actor should be an instrument played upon by the character he depicts.

What I learned is that acting is to a large extent about trying to stave off self-doubt long enough to be natural and real onstage.

I think when you're acting, you usually don't have to know too much beyond how to pronounce the words you're saying.

For me, there's nothing more valuable as an actor, or better way to learn, than getting to perform in front of a live audience, no matter where you are. Whether it's on Broadway, in Florida, or doing a tour.

It's important for an actor to feel like they're really being watched and to receive feedback and encouragement about the aspects of what they're doing that feels truthful - and also to raise awareness when they might be resorting to habits and tricks, which every actor has.

Acting is an emotion which has to be felt. Some feel it, some don't!

I had always heard that theatre is for 'serious' actors but after actually having rehearsed day in and day out, I realize how challenging it is.

I went to theater school where there is a lot of holding each other's faces and crying, and a lot of kid gloves.

Theatre is for you if you truly want to act and test yourself. There is no room for error as you are performing in front of a live audience.

So many actors get caught up in their technique, and to be honest, I see it really getting in the way. I see them forcing things. I definitely do my best work when I'm free of that. But I think as an actor, I work really hard in preparing the roles.

When you work as an actor, you've got to feel safe even in what appears to be the simplest things.