Pauley Perrette Quotes

I am trained in theatre, and so I take time to study and get into the skin of a character.

When I get a role, I try to delve as deeply as possible into the character.

Part of an actor's job is to find correlations between your own life and the life of the person you are playing.

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

In 'There Will Be Blood,' my character was someone who was an actor himself almost. He had a rehearsed quality about him. He was a performance artist in a way.

I had to focus and create a character in Bagger Vance, not just do my 'Will Smith' thing and get paid.

On the surface, it's really easy to dismiss certain characters, but sometimes you find that the most interesting parts are disappointingly shallow. It's your job as an actress to pull that person apart, and work out why they act the way that they do.

There are a lot of actors who will sit here and talk to you about characters - 'He does this, and she's a really interesting character because she does this.' I'm not like that at all. I'm not an actory actor.

Basically, the way you get into any role is just doing research on the type of character you're playing.

I do build my own backstory as an actor. It's important to know where your characters have come from in order to know where they're going - in order to exist in that state of being.

When I start thinking about a role, I read the script a few times and then let it sink in - and then take some time to develop how that character is going to play out and what he's going to do.

Any sort of role requires a certain amount of research and embodiment of the character and psychological investigation.

I suppose one of the things that interest me about acting is unpicking what makes people tick and why they do what they do and what it means to be human.

You have to play the logic of a character.

As an actor, I come to set, and I have already broken the character down by writing a poem about the character. I try to write in his voice, the way he would write it.

You try, as an actor, to wear a mask; you're serving a story.

I've heard of actors like De Niro and Streep who stay in character all day long. And Daniel Day-Lewis did it for 'My Left Foot.' I don't do that myself.

I have a journal, and every character that I play, I write as the character: how I feel about things and how I'm going to play it.

When I act, I try to understand the character, why she's behaving like that.

For me, as an actor, the challenge is mostly before the film starts when you have to get into the psychology of the character.

I have a very schoolish approach to acting. I like to do my homework, know more about the character, and study it. It's all about the craft.

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

I don't like when actors go around and talk a ton about how they approach their roles, because it's a little like pulling the curtain back on Oz, for me.

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

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