Stephanie Leonidas Quotes

Each character I play has different dimensions. I'm not interested in words that pull them together.

I don't really worry about the size of the part much any more. It's nice to have more time to work on the character, and to have big scenes to play. But if there's something playable there, and if it's interesting to do, then that's nice.

I feel I should never do passive characters. They don't work for me.

I think that each character has fascinated and interested me enough to want to play him.

Basically, I only play one character; I just play him at different volumes.

When you watch it, you're like, Wow. I look like that. But it doesn't feel like that at all. It was about communicating with Gale Harold and getting across what I wanted to say about the character.

As an actor you get categorized by other people, but it's not like I arrange myself into comedy mode or serious mode. If it's good writing you just have to play it true - if it's funny, it's funny. But obviously you don't want it to be amusing if you're playing Hedda Gabler!

I love acting, and ultimately all my characters are very different, and each character I love in a different way.

I just try not to look at any role as a comedic role or a dramatic role. I just try to stay in the movie I'm in.

I am a professional actor, and I don't go about moralizing about what the character does. Otherwise, seriously, why be an actor? You're not making some kind of social statement. That's not what actors do.

I think the buzz of acting is playing people different to you, and for me, that means traversing all genres.

That's what I love about acting, is playing different roles. I want to work for the character, and not make it work for me.

I don't really ever think about whether or not I like the characters I'm playing. I'm more into the minutiae of their behaviour or what they're doing in a certain scene.

I want to play characters that are interesting to watch.

The moment you say, 'I want to do a role,' the story suffers. I don't set priorities in terms of roles or scripts.

I play characters. I don't think I really have a persona per se. I don't play the same guy every time. I show up, you don't know what I'm gonna do. I like it that way. I've intentionally tried to do it that way. I think that's what's interesting.

I try to get roles that challenge me in what I can do and who I think I can portray. For me, it's about creating characters with really fascinating stories, because that's what I like to watch on TV.

In my experience, it's usually up to the actor how a character is portrayed.

I think I would not be described as a character actor in that I don't take on characteristics which are very alien to me.

Well, I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys. So it never surprises me. And if it's good writing, you can find your way into the part well enough.

I have a tendency as an actress in general to ground my characters. Even when doing outlandish characters, that's my instinct.

Making a film of a work you've played for six weeks gives you intimate knowledge of the character. By the time you go in front of the camera you've worked out the behavior and life of a character.

I've always done method acting. I'm a method actor, and I've done that for years. I never did acting and decided to take it seriously because all the parts people want me to do were playing the pretty role. If I want to play someone pretty, I'll play myself.

I have never been one of those actors who say, 'Oh, my character wouldn't do this,' or 'My character never wears an orange shirt,' or any of the number of inane things I've heard on movie sets throughout my career.

You can't sit here and try to predict what kind of character I'm going to be drawn to next. At the time when I read 'The Girl on the Train,' it wasn't like I was, 'Ooh, I want to play a hot mess next.'