Emily Mortimer Quotes

When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters.

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

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

You have to like the characters you play.

Everything, I think, about acting is based on imagination.

As actors, you play people who are not yourselves!

One of the exciting and enjoyable aspects of acting is being in the environment with another actor.

I'll read a script maybe twice, but I'll think about the role more than I'll rehearse lines.

The rehearsal time is almost my favourite part of being an actress, particularly if you're working on a play that hasn't been done before.

Stevie Van Zandt could not walk on to a set and act. I don't know how actors do that! It's the scariest thing in the world.

In some ways, it's easier to be the lead. Week after week, scene after scene, the rhythms of filming force you to peel away a certain amount of artifice. When you're on set that much, there's a license to let the character emerge from the work itself.

Acting has always been very comfortable for me, so it allows me to pay attention to other parts of the process literally while I'm acting.

Once you are in the character, you should let your inner actor take over you.

Preparing for roles sounds so academic, doesn't it? It feels as if you are preparing for an examination! In a creative medium, the preparation is of an entirely different kind, and for me, the ideas flow from the script itself.

Acting is a symbiotic process, it is an amalgamation of many many things put together and when there is a call for action, that's when you surrender and the moment of truth comes out, that's when you perform. That is the process for every good actor.

In order to make Alma innocent and open, I had to forget that I'm stressed as an actress because I'm making a film with Paul Thomas Anderson. I had to let go of everything and hold onto the text. The language was like a rope I could cling onto and make my way blindfolded through the shooting.

As an actor, it's your job to switch on and off from the character.

I don't think I had a script on 'King Kong.' But usually you read a script and then you go and audition for it. It's rare when there's no script. I sort of like the latter better, because I'm more successful at it.

I didn't have to audition. That's common, but it had never happened to me before. Normally, I hate auditioning. I need to stew and think... let the character develop and grow inside me.

I love acting and really taking on another person, another life.

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

Creating a character and living truthfully through her is a whole different ball game. It's all part of the same person but it's a much newer medium for me.

This acting was very hard work.

Having done a lot of theater, I'm used to sustaining characters over long periods of time.

The more and more I work with really great actors, the more it's about opening yourself up to what they bring.