Simon Helberg Quotes

You try to get to know your character as best as you can before you start filming - what's written and not written.

I figure out who I'm playing opposite, and I really do study them.

The way I prepare is through script analysts and back story. I create back story for a character based on script analysts, filling in as many details as possible. I also do a lot of research.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

Basically, the way you get into any role is just doing research on the type of character you're playing.

A lot of actors talk about doing their homework, but very few of them do it.

Any sort of role requires a certain amount of research and embodiment of the character and psychological investigation.

It's obvious that if you're going to play a character you need to amass information about that person and about their environment or their era that they're in and use as little or as much as necessary.

If you play a role, you want to familiarize yourself with that person's world. If I were playing an airline pilot or a doctor, I'd probably want to hang out with a doctor or an airplane pilot for a while, ask some questions. You don't get to hang out the kings. They don't help consult on movies. So your resources are, by necessity, secondary.

That's one thing I like to do before going in for a read - doing research once I actually have been granted the role - is to look up people's names.

It's always interesting researching characters and as I get older and the more that I work in this business, I do more and more of it because I realize how important it is.

My preparation is mainly just knowing the lines and getting in and knowing where your character is, knowing what it's about and having ideas that you can put in on the day.

I'm not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.

When I shoot, I try to feel the body and the face and the weight of the actor, because the character until that moment is only in the pages of the script. And very often, I pull from the life of my actors. I'm always curious about what these characters and these actors are hiding about their lives.

I work a lot; I love to compose, ponder, and take notes when preparing for a role. I cut all the scenes, collate the images, form the character and shape its personality, then I make meticulous notes and transcribe each scene on my notebook.

If I were to play somebody who ran a fish and chip shop, I would not work in a fish and chip shop for three months. Staring at chips is not going to help me in my performance.

I've been on projects before where there's no rehearsal, and you walk in on set and that's literally the first time you've ever played the character, and then I've had times where there's been three weeks of rehearsal. I like both.

As an actor, it's my job to prepare myself for a role. If the character is realistic, one can't go wrong.

In the time between when you first read a script and are offered the role and the time when you begin to shoot, I really love putting in the time and work on that and getting a solid backstory to a character and researching all that I can about what that person does for a vocation or their upbringing or where they're from.

I don't prepare for my roles. I don't watch movies to get inspired. I don't dig deep. I'll never be that type of actor, and I doubt that I ever will be.

When I come onto a show where I haven't met any actors, I try to zero in on the script and what's expected of the character I'm going to play and hopefully keep my focus on that, and friendships develop from that.

If I prepare myself for a character, for a role, I always try to understand her.

With any character I do, I do my due diligence with research.

As an actor, your first priority is the work - immersing yourself in the role, backstory, and bringing that to screen.

The most vital thing for an actor to deliver a great performance is to be honest to the role he or she is playing.