Sydney Pollack Quotes

In a way, as an actor, you do all the preparation and then you want to forget it and just play the scene. As a director, you can't forget it because somebody will remind you that you forgot something. But you can know your plan well enough that you still have a certain amount of freedom.

The day before I work, I don't like to even look at the script and let whatever happens happen on the set. But I do prepare a lot. I'm a big believer in that.

I like to rehearse before blocking.

I like a lot of takes. I just go on until the actors get it right.

I'm the sort of actor who likes to talk about what we're going to do.

With theatre, you have to be ready for anything.

That's the difference between working on film and working in a play. In a play, you work on it, and you live in it and develop it and make it happen.

Good acting is about being as natural and calm as possible. These days producers have such definite ideas that you have to be prepared to do whatever they ask.

That's how I like to do it with actors, have them really go for it and I'll tell them when it's too much. It's always easier to bring it back then to push it further.

You can't act for the editing. You just go in and do the scene the way you think is right.

Auditioning and actually acting on a set are two different things. When you audition, you're in a room and you don't have anything to play with and you don't have anything physically in the room. Whereas on set, you have direction, you have costumes, and you have other actors to work with. It's a completely different thing.

Actors need bricks to play with, and in fact we rejected all the improvised fragments we had made without a plan. Improvisation without a plan is like tennis without tennis balls.

Actors come in, and they have their own take on things, and you have to adjust on the fly to make sure everything still works structurally and dramatically.

I research every part thoroughly. I talk it out with my actor friends, but then I throw it all away when I get to the set. You have to be spontaneous.

When you prepare for something, you can then play around; you're not as worried about remembering your lines because you already know them so well. That's where you can find the freedom. So I'm all about prep work.

Some actors don't even read the stage directions at all.

When the scenes are written really great, we as actors try not to mess them up by getting in the way.

Theatre demands different muscles and different aspects of one's personality.

Actors know, with me they aren't going to be allowed to rehearse a scene for a couple of hours and then get away with doing 25 takes before we get it right. So they come with their full bag of tricks.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

As a director you come in and tell the actors how good they are.

There are two main jobs in acting - the first one is to be a good actor, and the second one is to convince everyone that you're a good actor.

It's not easy to act, but to direct to act. It goes form one place to the next. It's not heading for the punchline, and also it's not about scoring goals. It's about passing the ball, and the goals will come by themselves.

I don't mind doing scripted material. It's actually kind of a relief, because improvising is a little bit like screenwriting on your feet.

I take a script and mull over it and underline the bits I want to emphasize. When I go to the set, I know exactly what I want to do.