Dana Carvey Quotes

Writing and directing might be a red herring, and really I'm just re-examining what it is to act, to do it well and do it properly.

An actor is an instrument. One needs to control them.

The minute I start to talk about acting, I realize that I can't. You know, it's an abstract thing, a little bit mysterious even if you do it for a living.

I've always believed acting is an improvisational art form, even when not a single line is changed. I mean, the behavior should always be improvised. My favorite moments in any performance are when I'm just along for the ride; when I'm surprising myself. I know when I'm done and I think to myself, 'Gee, I didn't see that coming,' I've done well.

I don't like improvising on camera, particularly, but very often, a scene will not be working, and you rehearse it once or twice, and you realize something's missing. So I'll play with it until it makes sense.

I'm an actor's director. I love it when talented actors can bring characters to life.

Every time you get on a stage or in front of a camera, the whole exercise is about imagination. You're constantly depicting something that doesn't exist, and trying to find the reality of it. Once you settle on that premise, everything else is a matter of degrees.

Everything, I think, about acting is based on imagination.

You know, working as an actor, I'm always working within my own imagination.

You've got to love acting and that's true for me. I love the idea of getting on stage and getting in front of a camera.

I just love the process of working with other actors.

Honestly, I really, really love making movies. It's so much fun, and I love losing myself in the moment and just being there with other actors. When you're truly in the moment and you're feeding each other, it's such an exciting thing to be a part of.

On some level, acting is the art of pretend, and you have to have a highly cultivated sense of imagination. You have to be able to see things that aren't there, no matter what aspect of acting, whether it's green screen, whether it's on stage, whether it's anything else, whether you're working on the radio.

I think acting is a gift.

I'm more of a writer than an actor, and I used to say that I'm mostly an improviser, though I haven't improvised in awhile.

I love to act and put on a show, but you're playing a character all the time. For music, it's really just me being myself.

A large part of acting is just pretending. You get to work with these other great make-believers, all making believe as hard as they can.

I'm a craftsman. I'm an actor.

I'm inspired every time I see a role I'd like to play, an actor turn in a well crafted performance, a story I'd like to tell, direct or produce.

I just want to act. I just want to do the work.

An actor is at most a poet and at least an entertainer.

As much as I know people love the method and what you can draw out of yourself, a lot of acting is very imaginative.

Improv is a very big thing for me. The thing with actors is I do not understand at all how they do what they do. I'm fascinated by it, and I have such a respect for it.

I'm an actor. I love to create.

I know what I love about acting - and it's the creative process.