Eliza Scanlen Quotes

So you can't judge the character you're playing ever.

There's not a lot of arc in an actual psychopath.

When I was playing a psychopath in 'Happy Valley,' it was really weird.

I don't know what it is that I do, but when I play a really bad guy, I'm able to bring some level of likability to it.

You can't judge a character that you're playing, because then you're fighting against doing what the character's doing.

It's difficult to gauge that. With a bad guy you just know you're bad. To play a nice guy is harder - unless you are a very nice person like me of course.

As an actor, what you dream of is being able to portray people that people empathize with and understand and really feel for.

I've worked with a lot of characters that are unhinged. I've played characters that are unhinged. That's, like, my job.

In a weird way, I live vicariously through the characters I play as an actor.

You have to play your characters, not like them.

At the end of the day, you have to find the humanity in you in each character.

You know, I think a lot of times what happens when we as actors know we're playing a bad guy is we get into bad guy mode. You know what, man? In real life, bad people do good things too and good people do bad things. So you don't necessarily have to be the stereotypical bad guy to still do bad things.

Anybody who knows me has said, 'I had a Denis O'Hare moment.' I suppose in the kindest instance it means standing up for yourself. In the unkindest, it means the crazy guy in the street.

I feel like people assume if a character is very different than you, that means it's difficult to get into their head or into their skin.

The thing about being an actor is that you turn into other people. You have to hide yourself a bit in order to let that other person come out.

I like to play characters, man. I almost don't even think of them as good guys or bad guys. I know that's a hard thing to realize, but I really just think of them as characters.

I try genuinely, when I'm playing a character, to not judge them and just to inhabit someone as how one sees them. That being said, you also want to make sure that you don't blur the edges of people too much because humans are naughty and complicated beings.

Your job as an actor, I guess, is just to make people relate to the character.

Let me put it this way. There is more to acting than just acting like somebody. I like to act in such a way that other people get some notion of what it's like to be somebody.

I've never disliked a character I've played. I've always tried to find the humanity and the reasons for what he does.

Even people that are evil believe what they're doing is good. I don't agree with those people, but it's about understanding that there are those kinds of points of view.

I learned to understand the distance a character can be from yourself and how important rehearsal can be to creating a person that feels like a person that isn't you.

Those things that we probably are ashamed of as human beings, certain things that no one would ever talk about - as actors, when we transform into a character, we empathize with those moments.

Who cares about people's personal lives? I mean, honestly. How are you then able to disappear into a role?

Any decent actor knows you can't judge the character you're playing.