Max von Sydow Quotes

You pick projects for the part, the director, and the script. I just want to do different, interesting stuff.

I like to play unpredictable characters, and I like to be unpredictable in what movie I'll do.

I'm an entertainer, so in whatever form I entertain... The thing about being a rapper is that you have more control over your form, whereas with acting you have to compromise a lot.

I've never cared for the idea of a career path, or where a film might 'take me.' My love is for acting not money, so I only take on roles that I find challenging, in stories I find interesting.

Television and film acting is really fun because you are working with other people and you are not completely responsible for the outcome of the project.

With film roles, it just has to be a character either I haven't done before, or a role with somebody really interesting or with an interesting person or group of people.

Many plays - certainly mine - are like blank checks. The actors and directors put their own signatures on them.

With acting, there's a certain amount of independence you have within the framework of the storytelling. When it's done well, it's a collaborative medium.

I don't make decisions just on the character I'm supposed to play. Sometimes it's based on the director, sometimes it's based on the story, sometimes I need money, or sometimes I'm just starved to work.

I think you work on the roles that draw you in and the stories you want to tell.

I don't mind doing genre roles as long as they offer me something substantial.

I look for roles that are a good story for me as an actress and what I think will grow me as an actress and person. I also just really enjoy working with people who are passionate about what they do.

With the performances, I have been very fortunate to pick things and to find scripts that I really love. I always try to do something that I haven't done before.

I never see how meaty my role is. If I like the script in its entirety, the director, or if my co-star is someone I greatly admire, I sign up. You learn so much being part of a great team.

I'd like to work more, but I don't just want to do kind of generic characters. I want to do interesting characters, and I'd like to be cast against type.

Working with Danny Thomas was truly an adventure every week. Danny didn't always say the words as they appeared in the script. I learned more by osmosis than by sitting down together. He was a force to be reckoned with: an explorer of television.

As an actor, my main focus is finding good writing and attacking a good role.

I like playing off strong actors, whether it's Benedict Cumberbatch or Dominic Cooper. Also I'm a hopeless romantic, so I'm fascinated by relationships.

Acting has always existed alongside my normal life. It's been a case of learning on the job. I've worked in so many styles, with so many people, so I've picked bits up from everyone and everything.

It's your job as an actor to fill out the blanks. I love doing that. To fill in the bones.

I would be an actress for the rest of my life just because it's really relaxing. Writing is hard work, and stand-up is so stressful before you get on stage, but acting is a complete ensemble experience.

I want to take roles that challenge me and I want to like the script and obviously feel connected with the director because the director to me is so important.

I worked with people I admire; Josh Lucas, who I'd worked with many many years ago on a pilot called The Class of 61 and Kurt Russell, and so there were a variety of different people that I enjoyed working with.

Looking at acting, in the movies or the theater, and the way I like to look at it, it's just an extension of childhood play... Kids play and imagine in a very intense fashion and they don't need any director telling them, 'You really have to believe in it.' They believe in it completely.

Playing an alien gave me plenty of scope, and I was able to develop it once I became a member of the team.