Scott Michael Foster Quotes

You have to be completely in the character, and that's so hard to do. That's why, when they call, 'Cut!,' you often feel yourself shift. Unless you're Daniel Day Lewis, who stays in character all the time, there's a switch that happens.

Suffice it to say, every actor works differently. Laurence Olivier would put on his costume and when the wardrobe was right, he was in character. That sounds superficial, but it's true, and look at the results.

I don't even draw on my life experiences when I'm acting. I just try and make it feel like I'm living through that person's skin.

I love acting... I really do. I love crawling into another character's skin. That's something that I've always, always, always, always wanted.

I never act my characters - I am them.

Ultimately, the idea of acting is to understand the people you're playing, and then where they're coming from is not so mystifying. You've got to detox a bit after, though.

When I act, a part of me goes into the character I am playing.

A lot of male actors are method actors and they become the characters which they both were.

I try to allow the spirit of the character to live through me. That's the only way I know how to approach acting. I have to live it.

Actors pull from their own experiences to bring reality to the characters. I wouldn't want to play someone who's a lot like me. There would be no turning it on or off.

Some actors can distance themselves from the parts they play, but I fall into the category who use bits of themselves.

Actors who say they can dive inside a character are either schizophrenic or lying.

What happens with every role, you have to trick yourself, you have to creatively find ways to explore the mental state of your character.

When I'm acting, it's like I am the character - no one can talk to me. But I'm not so method I'd sell my house and live on the street to play a tramp.

You have to let the costume inform you.

Usually, one of the first things I think about when I'm developing a character is what they're wearing. I mean, it sounds very cheesy and very actor-y, but it really does help me figure it out.

I believe in method acting. Whenever I'm working on a character, I start behaving like him. I start doing these things which the character would normally do. Maybe that's the way I function as an actor, and I believe in it. And that's how I try and portray a character.

Transformational acting was the reason why I became an actor in the first place. Your hair and make-up and the costume are the tools that you have, and it makes you feel like that person. When you look in the mirror, you don't feel like yourself, and it changes the way you move. I love that stuff.

When you do a movie, you go to the location and get into your costume. It's part of your metamorphosis into your character, and it just made sense to do it.

I still think of myself as a stage actor. When I do film and television I try to implement what I was taught to do in theatre, to try to stretch into characters that are far from myself.

I don't believe actors who say they don't bleed into their characters. It's absolutely impossible not to.

I just play him as myself, I don't ease myself into any role really. I stick a beard on and play me.

I've done a few costume dramas, and people say, 'What was it like wearing the costumes? Did they really help you with your character?,' and most of the time it doesn't make any difference. You're wearing something a bit weird, and it's sort of uncomfortable, but it doesn't really have a huge impact on the part that you're playing.

In every film, whether it's a fictional character or not, you create an idea of the character and for me I always do a bad impersonation to start with.

You draw on whatever's relevant to the part you're playing; it makes it more personal.