Andrew Scott Quotes

Movies are all about plot. Theater, even if it's story heavy, it's about ideas. Theater has to resonate in your heart in a way that movies don't.

I am attracted to the complexities and deeper truths of characters, and I can't name a favourite role any more than I can name a favourite food!

I made mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries.

Characters can be mysterious and you're not really sure which way they might turn at a given point.

Acting is a strange job because your control is very limited.

Acting is an imaginative leap, really, isn't it? And imaginations prosper in different circumstances.

I love it when you like a character, and then she does something you don't like, and you hate her for a while - then you love her again. I'd like to see her have unlikable moments that the audience understands and sympathizes with.

I look at scripts really for whether they can be moving or penetrate some kind of truth. You are constantly chasing that feeling as an actor when every part of a production comes together.

People always make that mistake when they talk about theatre - the notion of the 'theatrical' meaning something separate from life. If it doesn't relate to life, it doesn't relate to anything.

I'll tell you what I love about directing: the surprise. You never know what's going to happen with your piece until an audience weighs in.

Drama and comedy, to me, are all about being surprising, coherent, and true, all at once.

At the end of the day, acting is all about telling lies. We are professional imposters and the audience accept that. We've made this deal that we tell you a tale and a pack of lies, but there will be a truth in it. You may enjoy it, or it will disturb you.

As an actress I just want to tell beautiful stories.

As an actor, you hope to find roles that are challenging to you as an artist. Then if you are truly blessed, you will find that it also carries a message that you can impart to your audience.

To be perfectly honest, drama is a lot simpler than comedy.

As an actor, you know when you've got great material in front of you. When you're working, you think, 'Is this the one? The one that everyone will respond to and be moved by?' You pray that you have told the story well... that your peers will see it and audiences will love it.

I just like playing interesting, complex, complicated characters. I like films that also have an element of humor.

I think that's something that people feel that I do really well; I don't mind it, because ultimately I think the characters I play move people, and who wouldn't want to move people?

We all go to the theater and cinema to be inspired and moved on an emotional level, sometimes to laughter, sometimes to tears. Once I discovered that acting could have such an effect, I was sold. It has been one of the most rewarding discoveries I have ever made.

I love to be a vessel through which characters can come through. And if I can move an audience with my work, then I've done my job.

Doubt is crucial, I think, in every character I have ever played.

I like making people feel things. Acting doesn't seem like lying but like storytelling.

As an actor, my job is not to always play characters who make everybody happy. That's not interesting.

Our dream as actors is to tell interesting stories about interesting people.

I'm not a pyrotechnical director; I'm not good with all those innovative things. What I am interested in is how actors can touch the heads and hearts of an audience.