Roger Deakins Quotes

When I give over to somebody's vision rather than have an idea of what I need to do, it takes me to places I wouldn't have got to by myself. I'm always attracted to a strong director.

When the director has a vision for a piece that I've never heard before, and they can back that up with visuals, and they talk a good game, I get really interested in the world that they're trying to create.

There is the danger of over preparation, of loss of spontaneity; over rehearsal is the most terrible thing you can imagine. We do have a very close association between costume and set designer, though. And the cameraman is very important, of course.

All these directors, and I would include the Coen brothers and Quentin, have a very unique vision of what they want. They listen to ideas and make people feel like everyone is making the film.

I like to just work with great directors.

'Chocolat' was a joy to make, as we were filming in beautiful locations in France and England. Lasse Hallstrom is such an amazing director - overall it was a wonderful experience.

Directors are our teachers, and I'm always craving to work with a great director. They're pretty much the first thing that interests me about a project. Let's put it this way: It'll take me a lot longer to read a script if there's no director attached.

Directors sometimes have good ideas that I wished I'd had, not on rewriting but simply on staging.

I would love to direct one day. I value the relationship that I have with a director so much, and I would be really excited to be on the other end of that relationship.

I am open to working with new directors as long as the script excites me.

I've always wanted to work with the best directors. Directors lead you to the best material and thus the best actors.

I'm a director's actor, and I surrender myself to the vision and the process. I think nothing else matters then.

Filmmaking is a creative process so there is a lot of collaboration that happens on set between an actor and director, but at the end of the day, we're there to actualize the director's vision and things happen organically.

When talking with a set designer the dialogue is more centered on locations, interior design, what I like and what doesn't work. There is a certain taste I'm drawn to and feel inspired by, and finding that inspiration is what keeps the conversation moving forward.

A great movie evolves when everybody has the same vision in their heads.

When you agree to work with a filmmaker, it's important that you accept their world. It's an adventure. I like that. I throw myself into the director's arms, into their universe.

I wanted to write and direct movies and not be forced to adapt them from a bestselling book.

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.

You can never tell when an artist really will take up someone's work and work with it happily.

Part of the process of acting in a film that you're also directing is really trusting the people around you to capture your vision, which hopefully you have communicated well to them.

Films are not mathematics - that's the first thing you need to understand. At least, that's how I feel. They are not words on paper. Films are made with people, with teams and with individual bundles of creativity coming together to fulfill the vision of an individual who is the director of the film.

When I'm directing films, I mostly try to create an environment on set that mimics what's in my mind as to the tone and feel of things. I try to create a place where you feel that anything's possible.

I definitely managed to do different kinds of things. My focus is usually who the director is, because at the end of the day the director is the storyteller, what the movie is all about. I don't want to participate in something that I don't think is constructive storytelling.

We were doing it under the most extraordinary circumstances, but the first out of the tent in the morning would be David Lean. He said to me on the very first day of shooting, Pete, this is the beginning of a great adventure.

If a script comes together, and you end up liking the people who are part of it, that's when you can make magic happen. It's a huge combination of trying to find something you think you can deliver on and a director you think you can collaborate with to make a good picture.