Lily Tomlin Quotes

I never dreamed that shooting a film would be so hard. There was less regulation then of child actors' hours. Even the concept of acting confused me.

Acting is great. You spend your whole life trying to get it right.

When you're in a theater, it's about reaching the back rows. When you have a camera in your face, it's just about knowing the size of the room.

Even if one is not a great actor, just being in front of the camera requires a lot of effort.

But since I did my first film with Shammi Kapoor ji, he is my favourite. I was very shy to face the camera. In my first few shots with Shammi chacha, I was very nervous. He was very patient with me and guided me in every shot.

Having to walk and talk and hit a mark and open a door proved nearly impossible for me. I suppose that's why we're on a reality show and not 'Mad Men.' Because we don't act.

The toughest thing for me is doing on-camera stuff as a comedian.

I don't think I would be a good actor! People enjoyed 'Dancing With the Stars' because I was myself, and every time they told me to say something, I would say my own words, so I don't think I could follow a script well!

In the theater, you go from point A to point Z, building your performance as the evening progresses. You have to relinquish that control on a film.

I remember the first film I did, the lead actor would, in between scenes, be reading a newspaper or sleeping and I'd think, 'How can you do that?' But it's so exhausting, you can't be 'on' 12-14 hours a day.

Any actor working a long time should know how a shot is set up, where to place themselves, how to handle the lines. I'm a member of the crew, like the best boy, the electrician. What I'm good at is making eyes at the camera.

I learned quickly at Columbia that the only eye that mattered was the one on the camera.

Being in front of the camera, you never got to see the whole process from the conception of the script all the way through to the filming process.

I don't storyboard, and I don't really shot list. I let the shots be determined by how the actors and I figure out the blocking in a scene, and then from there, we cover it.

Now, learning how to make a movie is something you can figure out in about an afternoon. The physics of it, the marks, the lights, etc. What's hard to do is to suspend your own feelings of self consciousness. The natural actors can do that; they can become part of a characterization and learn how to maintain it.

There's no real preparing at home for stand-up. You just go and you just do it.

I think I'm becoming more relaxed in front of a camera. I suppose I'll always feel slightly more at home on stage. It's more of an actor's medium. You are your own editor, nobody else is choosing what is being seen of you.

Acting. It's the number one thing I love to do. That's why when people ask me what else I'd love to do, I have no answer - this is all I ever wanted to do.

People may know me from films, but theater is my first love. I did about 35 plays before I even landed my first screen role. I'm very comfortable on stage, and theater is not something you can just wing.

One of the things I find very difficult about theatre is the repetition - that something can slide away from your original intentions.

One thing that seems to surprise the studios is finding out later my willingness to audition. Under the right circumstances, I actually enjoy it very much.

Karl Malden was quite a mentor. He taught me things he had learned from being in front of a camera so long.

When you're filming, it's very different from what you see on screen.

I love, love, love live performance. It's like walking a tightrope without the net. You better be on point; you better be balanced. You better have rehearsed it and seen it from every vantage so you can do what you do best. I do love film because it's up front in your face, and hopefully you've got a great editor.

One thing I'm passionate about is directing. I've always wanted to direct.