George C. Wolfe Quotes

You know. I'll try anything. I'll do anything. I'll explore. Try different takes. All that kind of stuff to do sometimes, to do good performances, but always conducive to having a good time creatively.

With Fincher, you can take chances and try things. And what happens is that any pretension and preparation you've done, all the square, intellectual work, you can't keep that up for 40 takes. It breaks down, and new things start popping up. This, for me, is the most exciting thing about film-making.

As an actor, you have to be open to doing things where you look stupid, to be experimental.

When you work with an actor and then you discover new things that are better, I think you gotta be free to be able to go with the new things that you're finding. I think that's very important. I have a strong idea when I go to shoot a movie but I also love to discover things when I'm on set as well.

The wonderful thing about theater as an art form is it's a purely empirical art form. It's all about what works. And every show, every production, is created anew right from the moment you go into the rehearsal hall.

I always try to stick to the script because I want to respect the writers, and I want to respect the director. But if the director and my fellow actors are okay with me playing with it a little bit, then I definitely want to play with it.

Often times, I'm surprised by what I'm writing or what I'm playing, and then that inspires me to keep going with it, so it ends up being a very adventurous process.

That's kind of like how jazz is sometimes. You're out there predicting the future, and no one believes you.

To be a good actor you have to be something like a criminal, to be willing to break the rules to strive for something new.

So much of making movies is about discovery on the day, what you're figuring out. If you know everything going in, then it's not worth doing - it's already done.

What I love about acting is trying things and screwing up, then trying again, all in this protected little bubble. That's living the dream.

I ask all my actors to do two things: I ask them to fail for me, and I ask them to surprise me.

We storyboard a lot, but I love when we are just going in there and just, almost on the fly, making stuff and discovering moments. It's just fantastic, where you can really go in there and be creative and everything.

I love being with artists because I'm always open to getting into something.

When I do a take, I very often try things that I haven't planned to try to see if I can pull it off.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

The apparatus has to serve our improbability and improvisation. Being good and playing the songs is not enough.

When you have the cast, the sets, the lights, an opera takes on its own life. I'm not one of those directors who marches in with a set of plans.

I like a set to be a happy place, where people can feel free to experiment.

There's no way to really mock up or simulate what I'm doing until I'm there. An exhibition for me is not a statement but an experiment.

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 didn't think; I experimented.

I always want to do something I haven't done before and get to work with other actors, writers, or directors that I want to work with.

You know, back in acting school they always teach you, 'Make bold choices and look for activities that are interesting.'

I'm one of those actors who is going to come in with 2,500 ideas. You can shoot down 2,499, but one of them you're going to like.