Terry O'Quinn Quotes

To be a character who feels a deep emotion, one must go into the memory's vault and mix in a sad memory from one's own life.

The ideal way to approach a character is to find something in yourself that relates in some way.

How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?

I look for characters that speak to something in me.

To explore different parts of yourself and different emotional lives... not to hide from who you are but to actually explore who you are.

I think part of maturity is knowing who you are.

When you are angry or frustrated, what comes out? Whatever it is, it's a good indication of what you're made of.

I think a lot of people relate to some of my characters' inner struggles.

The thing that inspires me most is empathizing with people's flaws and seeing how they deal with them. That sort of connection you feel with someone when you realize that maybe even the negative things that they've said or done are because of insecurities or injuries they've endured.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

I try to find what is closest to me in the character. There's many sides to personality, but it's a matter of, do you entertain those specific areas of your personality, or are you afraid to entertain them?

Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion.

I believe the arts are the best way to help people go on a journey of self-discovery toward their own compassion and empathy for humanity and themselves.

It's a real luxury to be able to develop with your character.

The place you have to start to be any good at this, at acting, is with yourself. Everything is inside of you, all of it - the murderer, the great mother, the therapist, the husband. Everything is inside of us.

As a leader, the most important earthly relationship you can cultivate is your relationship with yourself.

A man's strength is ultimately born of his knowledge of his own weakness.

Every time I've built character, I've regretted it.

You can't give it to others if you don't have it in yourself.

A 'weakness,' I now realize, is nothing but a strength not properly developed.

You get talent when you discover the ground of your pain.

You've got to understand what makes the character human.

If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.

The man who has no inner-life is a slave to his surroundings.

I relate to most of the characters I play, because I do feel like an outsider.