Anne Meara Quotes

I think I might have been a more interesting actor, had more of a career earlier on, if I had more formal preparation. When I see something ten years later that I was in I think, 'Boy, would I love to do that over.'

I don't think it's necessary to be an actor to get great performances out of an actor. But I do think it helps me as a director because I know what I like as an actor, and I try to get that to the actors who I'm working with.

My first offer was when I was 12, and it was for a soap opera. And I turned it down because I knew that I was an unformed actor, and I didn't want to develop bad habits.

I've grown tremendously as an actor by being there. It is comic writing the likes of which I don't know that I'll ever see again and it's been a great, great experience.

For me, it was much more important to continue to learn my craft as an actor and get a bit of flesh on the bones.

What I can say, categorically, is that working with Sarah Paulson and Kathy Bates will have been the most formative experience for me, as an actor, for the rest of my life.

The caliber of actors I'm getting to work with and learn from on a daily basis is phenomenal for me as a developing actor.

An actor is supposed to emulate life. Instead, alas, many are imitating other actors. You don't fashion your knowledge of theatre or your approach to a role on the basis of what other actors have done. This kind of thinking is a great danger, especially in dealing with TV producers who frequently say things like, 'This is a Sean Connery type.'

I signed up for 'Brothers & Sisters' because I think it's a really great show. I like my character, and I'm really interested in what he has to do every day - and this cast is so spectacular. I really wanted to work with this particular group of people.

It's a great challenge to get to play a real-life character. Every actor would love to get a chance, at least once in his life, to play a real-life character.

I've loved doing 'E.R.' for the quality of the writing and the great people I get to work with.

I just love the process of working with other actors. It's like jamming with a musician, except it takes a little more effort to get to that place as an actor, because you have the cameras and lights and everything. But I love jamming with these people.

That is one of the reasons one enjoys acting. Now and again, you get scenes where you work with somebody really good and you have a good time trying to make it really work and really work well.

I don't call cut between the takes - it's my way to help the actor keep focused. As soon as you say 'cut' you have 10 people jumping on them and everybody's trying to do a great job, and they do, but sometimes they forget that the more important thing is the performance, creating the performance.

And my father, being a good Swiss puritan, always really insisted that if I was going to be an actor, I shouldn't just be an actor, I should know about the whole process.

That first year at Universal was a big blur and, naturally, I thought they were wasting me. I didn't realize at the time that I was learning my craft and acting more easily in front of the camera.

There was only one elective at my college for acting, but thank God for that elective because we had a great teacher who introduced me to the Meisner technique for acting. Once I read that book, I said, 'Wow, if I could do that and have that honest moment on stage, that would be amazing.'

Most actors nowadays are models turned actors. That's why a lot of young actors are terrible. You have to learn how to act. It is not something that you can just do.

Good actors, especially when they know their character, will come in and either tell you in advance that they have an idea, or in the middle of the rehearsal or the scene they'll let it loose and you go, 'Ah that's great.'

One of the great pleasures of acting is surrendering to someone else's point of view of the world - living inside a character and a story that never would have come out of your mind or heart.

I think chemistry and great acting go hand-in-hand.

'One Tree Hill' was a great learning opportunity for me, and I'm excited to go and apply that elsewhere and see where I end up.

It was a great learning experience to work with James Stewart.

My style is an extension of acting and an outcome of some serious lessons I picked up learning when I did theatre in my early days.

My advice to young people who want to act is just to do it as much as you can! Find friends who also want to do it and have readings of great plays in your apartment. You don't have to wait for someone else to tell you that you can do it. You can be getting better on your own all the time.