Vijay Sethupathi Quotes

I worked very hard playing Arjun, and I was consumed by the character.

When I am rehearsing for a play, I try to read nothing that might distract my concentration from the work in progress.

When I attack a role, be it TV, film or stage, the first thing I say is, I don't want to know anything. If it's good I don't want to hear it; if it's bad I don't want to hear it. The only thing either thing can do is distract me. I like to stay focused.

Coming from a background of being onstage, you're onstage for two and a half hours and you're in it for the whole time no matter what you're doing. Even if you don't have a line, you have to stay in it.

Whenever I am acting, it's everything, you know. If I'm researching a role, I'm completely consumed in that and, between action and cut, I live in this suspended time.

You get involved with a character after spending a long time waiting, and this demands a lot of energy and concentration.

I think everybody's got different methods of working which suit the particular individual. Mine is to sort of play the part, and give 100%, to concentrate and focus on it while I'm actually working, but then leave it behind until the next day.

If I'm doing a scene that requires a lot of focus, I'll just take myself away and do what I have to do.

When you're acting, it should be the most important thing that's going on. But when you're not, leave it alone.

I try to bring all my sincerity to the character I play. That way, I am dedicated.

I took my play very seriously, and I got way, way lost in my play world.

Meisner technique was different than anything I'd ever experienced. It's a really great way to be accountable to your craft and to yourself, but also it takes that kind of focus and dedication to learn anything.

Acting isn't a side thing - you have to live and breathe it.

I find it so all-encompassing when acting that there's no room for anything else when you're in it; you're just locked into thinking about it all day, you go to sleep with it, wake up with it, and when I come back, I really need time to recover.

Debra Winger doesn't let anything interfere with her performance, which is the way it should be.

I would take plays and I would cut out all the other dialogue and make long monologues because I felt the other kids weren't taking it as seriously as I did.

I take my time to get into the mindset of the character and say my lines. I really have to be the person that I am playing.

When I'm on set, I do whatever I can to find my focus.

Discipline is the quality that carries over from gymnastics to acting.

I can't just say the words, do a lot of one-liners. I love each person I play; I have to be that person. I have to do him true.

When a doctor is performing an operation, his mind cannot be somewhere else. And it's the same with actors. You have to commit yourself mind, body and soul to a project in order to do justice to it.

I really believe in the characters I play.

The play is on top of me all the time, and I am constantly thinking about it. Even when I leave the theatre, I'll mumble the lines to myself or think about the way the character walks or holds himself.

When I'm working, it's just about doing the best I can with whatever dialogue is in front of me today. You can't worry about the other thing.

I wouldn't say I'm a Method actor, but I do try to focus very deeply on what character I'm playing, and everything else goes out the window. I forget about everything. I try to get everything else out of my head.