Donnie Yen Quotes

For me, actors have to have a character, an aura, body language. They're not models. They used to call actors models. But I want them to participate in the film.

I love saying dialogue and creating a full character more than just being physical. But I always end up doing physical stuff in my roles.

For me, personality acting is not that interesting. I don't want to just be myself.

I always enjoy impersonating my characters in the first-person singular.

I love doing characters that challenge me. I'd love to do something that requires me to change physically or learn a skill.

Every once in a while I play a true idiot, and they're really fun to play.

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

Accents are very easy for me. With me, it's clothing and makeup and hair and all that stuff that inform how the character moves and feels.

I'm a method actor.

It's my privilege to be able to play somebody not myself. I'm an actor who creates characters based in voice, movement, emotional quality, speech.

What I love most about acting is being able to play different types of personalities without being considered crazy.

I'm an actor. I play roles in films and theaters. I don't act out, and I don't play people.

If you're playing a character who says whatever he wants, I felt free to say whatever I wanted on set.

I think there is no better training than being onstage because here's the thing: the theater requires you to act with your whole body. I think acting with your whole body gives you a root, and you can build from there.

A lot of film acting is about being casual.

As an actor, my body is my tool to flesh out the roles I play.

In films, the camera catches each nuance of expression in close ups. On the stage, it is less subtle, you have to act with your whole body.

I use my hands a lot while acting.

Being an actor all of my life is kind of a collaborative, social form of interpretive art. Sitting down with a blank page every day by yourself is a different feeling.

How do I act so well? What I do is I pretend to be the person I'm portraying in the film or play.

I love acting. It's an interesting challenge to make something that doesn't exist appear like it's happening, and to do it in a real way.

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

In acting, you draw so much on your private life.

I don't think I do that much to prepare for roles in general.

Actors are like magicians. They'll sit there and do all their tricks to each other. It's very competitive, and the goal is to get them bonding, to get them to know the real person as quickly as possible.