Irvine Welsh Quotes

I know all actors are different, but I've never sat down and asked the writers, 'Where are we headed? Am I good or bad?'

Don't start writing your novel until you know your characters very, very well. What they'd do if they saw somebody shoplifting. What they were like at school. What shoes they wear. Spend days - weeks, months - being them until they thicken up and start to breathe.

Well, first of all, you read the script a million times. Because what the script gives you are given circumstances. Given circumstances are all the facts of your character.

I try to begin with a strong grasp of my characters. Even if it's schematic, I need it clear in my head who these people are.

I've got to write about my character every day. I've got to find out where he lives, what bus he catches to school, and stuff like that. You've got to know every little thing about him so when you do it, it feels natural.

The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.

For me, I always have to establish a reality for the character. In very actor-y terms, you just have to understand his reality.

I think you've got to understand your character and where they're coming from.

You're living with these characters for years and years, you need to have a lock on who they are as people, what they like, what they don't like, what they experience, and what they go through.

That's not the part of the story that I'm interested in, anyway. The part that I'm interested in is all the personal stuff. I tried to base the powers on family archetypes.

As actors, you don't actually need to know the future of the character. You just need to know the backgrounds.

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

You've got to leave the reader with more than just a name and a costume - they need to know who the character is, what they're like, what kind of attitude they have, what sort of role they play.

I tend to come up with people more than situations - most of my books start with a character.

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

Any author of fiction will tell you that characters don't need to be told what to do.

The strange thing is, if I was speaking to drama students about the thing that you should do if you're lucky enough to know or to meet the character that you're playing, I'd say, 'It's obvious: you quiz them diligently about their experience.'

I have a cheat-sheet for each one of my characters about their personality, the way they look, etc. So there is no possible way that I could have writer's block.

I'm about my characters.

Usually when I'm trying to establish character, I try and find out where they live.

Don't set pen to paper until you know your main characters inside out. Create files detailing their appearances, likes, dislikes, and personal background. You may not use all the information, but it is a crucial step in planning your story.

All my characters have playlists.

There are always different roles and questions to be asked about certain characters.

For my characters, it's important to get really specific about what they listen to. Because it affects how they move in the world.

I make notebooks for characters, and it kind of becomes a bible.