David Henrie Quotes

An actor doesn't change thought, theme, or mood unless the character does, and the character only does it within the words of the play.

As an actor, the thing I want to do to an audience is always be ahead of them and always be surprising in the work without deviating from the writer's intention.

I don't worry too much about learning lines per se. The memorization is the easy part for me, usually. For me, it's more about working on the context, back story, intention, motivation, etc. Once that's in place, the lines come pretty naturally.

Actors need to know why they're saying what they're saying, more than just learning their lines.

Acting has to do with saying it as if you meant it, so for me the words are always very important. It's very important for me to know my lines, know them so well that I don't have to think about them.

If you write interesting roles, you get interesting people to play them. If you write roles that are full of nuance and contradiction and have interesting dialog, actors are drawn to that.

There is a temptation for an actor to editorialize what they're doing. And you can't do that with Pinter. It's almost like a musical score. His lines are so specific, but they can mean different things to different people, like an alternating current.

As an actor, one's role is very much to respond and react to the situation within the context of the character and his world.

When you see something that is well-written, the actors can get behind it.

I am a professional actor, and I don't go about moralizing about what the character does. Otherwise, seriously, why be an actor? You're not making some kind of social statement. That's not what actors do.

The camera does not like acting. The camera is only interested in filming behaviour. So you damn well learn your lines until you know them inside out, while standing on your head!

I am very aware that playwrights, particularly good ones, have a intention for everything they write. Language and punctuation is used specifically, and most of the time actors can find wonderful clues about character in the rhythm and cadence of the language used.

You really have to take your time; you have to know your character and your scene. The line you are about to say comes from the moment right before. It's not what's said, it's what is in between the spaces, it's what's in between the lines; that is the most important to play.

Well, I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys. So it never surprises me. And if it's good writing, you can find your way into the part well enough.

There are a lot of visual marks that have to be hit, and lines that need to be said in a right way - so there wasn't really any improvisation on the set when it came to the bulk of the script.

When you get to set, you don't try to play the plot; you just play the character.

A good actor always sets you straight. If you've written a false moment and thought it was probably pretty great, the actor's gonna show you when he gets to that moment. They're the great test of the validity of the material.

I really enjoy playing intelligent characters. I'm more interested in that than just emotional kind of Mum characters.

It is always a pleasure to be directed by an actor because they know the scene from the actor's perspective, too. That's an advantage.

The most vital thing for an actor to deliver a great performance is to be honest to the role he or she is playing.

I like to prepare for my roles well, so you can call me a method actor to an extent.

When we watch a film as actors, you have to understand that we always see much more than what's on screen.

There's the truth to every moment that you have to bring to every scene, but you have to understand the tonality of the film before you begin, which isn't something that's instinctual to me.

What I look for in a script is the plot point and whether they're strong, obviously, or not, whether the characters are rich or not, and if I can do justice to the character or not. Some movies you look at and the script is so bad that no one can do anything with the script.

Every actor just wants good writing.