Michael C. Hall Quotes

As an actor, you wouldn't be able to play a character if you were worried about the reaction to what you're doing.

I feel no terror when I'm acting. There's no tension. It's just a part.

The thing I adore about acting is that it's not me: you get to experience all these emotions, but essentially it's not you.

As a young performer, I didn't know that you can have a great time playing someone in terrible crisis. The more you know it's not real, the deeper you can go into it. And the easier it is to let it go when it's done.

I think that when you first read material or you first read a script or story and know you might be playing a part, it's important not to see yourself because it should be a challenge enough that it doesn't come easy.

I have to do some mental gymnastics as an actor sometimes, to remember not to let certain things in.

When you're acting, you do have to prepare yourself for doing that. You have to leave behind - or you try and leave behind - anything that's going on in your personal life.

It's more difficult for me to get into a character in the lead-up as opposed to leaving it.

I love acting. It's the one job I know of where you can go in, go through complete catharsis - emotionally, physically sometimes and mentally - and at the end of the day say, 'See you in the pub, guys.'

I've worked with little kid actors before, and when they start crying or anything like that, it makes my job so easy, because you react. A little kid crying, there's not much else to do.

I can't imagine anything more debilitating, anything more challenging, anything more thrilling than to get on a stage and do any kind of play. It is such a vulnerable place for any actor to be in.

As an actor, you are aware of how a role can seep into your real life.

I can't act, and so I have to live that particular character in my real life and then exhibit it on screen.

The reason why I hate working in theatre is the tedium of memorisation. But once that is done, then you feast on this never-ending meal. If you play it correctly, every night is fraught with very high stakes that are very difficult to find in everyday life.

The thing about acting is you don't want to let on how enjoyable it is or then everybody would want to become an actress. But it really is. It's a pleasure to go and exchange your identity.

I love acting it's apart of me and I try to put a little bit of myself in each of my roles.

I think the motion picture industry is a stupid business and I despise acting the scenes in short snatches, one at a time. I hate this film work. I am disgusted with myself. On the stage I could never play a part unless I felt it with all my heart and soul.

Frankly, acting doesn't scare me because I really enjoy it.

I would go into a place that was quiet and isolated and think about how my character would feel in the situation, considering who he was and what he had been through. I would think about that even up to 30 minutes. And when I felt the character was in my body and I had left, I could walk onto set or into rehearsal.

I immerse myself right into my character whether or not I'm relating to people live as an actor on stage or whatever.

Actors make bad lovers. Their most important kiss is for the camera. Not in a superficial way, in a really deep way. They can only give everything if they know someone is going to shout cut!

I find that a lot of the good acting comes out when you're physically being pushed: your brain turns off and just deals with the situation at hand. You get to a point where you're exhausted at the end of the day, but I quite like that.

I have to believe in the character to perform it.

I find acting slightly nerve racking, but I like the challenge.

Coming from dance, I feel acting is - I'm not going to say easy, because it's not. But the dance world is more hard-core.