Ving Rhames Quotes

On some level in acting, what you're trying to find is truth, because when it's true is when it's also funny.

Stripping away artifice - it's the constant standard I aim for in acting, to approximate life. People talk about being bigger than life - but there's nothing bigger than life.

In drama you can either pretend everything is OK, or you can show the world as it really is in the hope that it gets better.

Acting means nothing unless it's truth. And honesty.

I approach a comedy the same way I do a drama. I try to make it as real as possible.

I know what I like in other actors: truth. That's the best. It makes you say, 'OK, I'll go with you on this.'

The thing about television is that you can't fake it. Your sense of discovery must be genuine; you can't pretend to be surprised.

I suddenly realized that comedy, for me, was just being honest, and playing it for real. I've seen so many wonderful actors who turn into creatures from another planet when they're told they are supposed to be playing comedy.

The more sincere I could be, the better it would be for the film.

I really don't act. I just live what George and I are doing. It has to make some sort of sense to me, or it won't ring true. No matter what the script says, there's no audience and no footlights and no camera for me. There's no make-believe. It's for real.

Acting is the art of being and existing, and not being fake.

If you're contriving something, if you're making something up, it's not funny. You can tell. It's instant. It has to come from someplace real.

I just like to keep things small and subtle and authentic, and ground everything in reality. So that is something that I feel is my strength as a director and I try to achieve as an actor.

I find that there's so much funny stuff in real life, and I am much more interested in super grounded, real stuff, so now I just want things to feel real and authentic.

Acting is about being in the moment and audiences are smart to know what is authentic and what is not.

As an actor, your main goal is to tell the truth.

I think everything needs to be played real, for reality's sake, for truth. And that is the drama and the comedy. When you do that, it's funnier. And when you do that, you really do hit the emotional beats. I do it the same way as I do a drama. I just play it for truth, and then maybe have a little bit of fun with it sometimes.

What reaches an audience is honesty. If you're saying something truthful that's supposed to be a funny line, it's going to be funny. And if it's supposed to be a serious line, it's going to be serious. But, I don't think there's a distinction between how you play drama or comedy, if it's based in the truth.

I don't believe in dressing up reality. I don't believe in using makeup to make things look smoother.

You don't need to over-dramatise life, you can just reflect it. It's more interesting, in a way, if it appears to ring true.

I think comedy has to come from a real place. It has to come from an honest place.

I do try to write in ways that reflect reality, and I think that reality is rarely simple.

I feel strongly that I need to try to make my shows as real as possible. What you see is what you get.

That's the thing about acting - you can't fake it.

I aim to tell the truth about any subject, not a romance or fantasy, not avoid the truth.