Michael Ironside Quotes

I have realised I am a director's actor.

I do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

In choosing any role, I ask the same questions: what kind of part is it? is the role challenging? does the director have a vision? is the story moving? etc.

I always approach every play based on the cast. When Denzel and I did 'Fences,' I didn't go to rehearsals and say, 'OK, James Earl Jones did a wonderful job in '87. Let me see if you can come close to James Earl Jones.'

As an actor, you create a character from your understanding of what you have heard and your observations. Eventually, every film is an extension of the images that I have seen or what I have heard or read somewhere.

I have only recently got interested in film, and it is a strange way of working in many ways. But actually, when it is at its best, it's quite an extraordinary way of working between a director and an actor, to really explore an inner life.

An actor can be as talented as another, but if he doesn't stick to what the director's intentions are, it all falls down. I adore working with actors.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.

I'm really a director's actor. I rely heavily on a director.

Part of an actor's job is to draw up a back story.

I've learned by watching films that inspired me and people who inspired me like Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I love old school acting. I love subtlety, and I also love being spontaneous, and that's really what works for me.

I believe that as a writer and a director, you're only providing the skeleton of a character, and you're hiring actors to fill it out.

As an actor, your first priority is the work - immersing yourself in the role, backstory, and bringing that to screen.

As actors, we often look for the scene, big moments that say, 'This is why you have to do this role.'

I learn the techniques and then take what I need. I have the Essie Davis technique of acting. I'm an instinctive actress.

I am a director's actress in general - I depend a lot on them.

I never do any research for my roles.

Every actor has a method.

As an actor, my No. 1 focus was to be on the same page with the writer, director, and producers.

I'm a director's actor and go by what they say.

When I find those actors who are going to work that hard and collaborate that deeply, my role is to make sure there's a whole lot there for them to work with.

My preparation is mainly just knowing the lines and getting in and knowing where your character is, knowing what it's about and having ideas that you can put in on the day.

The pleasure from acting comes from having great writing to work with. If it's well written and the character is interesting, then, as an actor, that's the raw material I need.

I don't really prepare for roles. I just kind of do them!