Ben Schwartz Quotes

You work with stand-up comedians or you work with somebody in theater, you work with somebody from 'Star Search' or 'Survivor' or a kid, it constantly changes how you play with people.

Fine-tuning a play like 'Uncle Vanya,' which is already well-known to the people playing it, is not so much a verbal exercise as it is a visceral one.

It's sort of the most important thing for acting, is to listen to the person you're dealing with.

It's fun to play the character and then watch him later.

It is hard sometimes to see how other actors are working when you are working with them.

I'm an entertainer, so in whatever form I entertain... The thing about being a rapper is that you have more control over your form, whereas with acting you have to compromise a lot.

I just love the process of working with other actors.

I think it makes a difference when the actors are enjoying it more than anything because we have a real blast on 'Torchwood.'

Acting is reacting, and it's always easier to react when someone is doing a good job.

Acting is probably the number one team sport in America as far as I'm concerned.

You have to be really open to your acting partners and believe in the story.

I like doing a lot of research, and then you get there, you're in wardrobe, and then you're just reacting to what the other person is doing. The other actor is reacting to what you're doing, and it's this great back and forth. Because you've done all this research, you can use some of it or throw a lot of it out. You can get lost in it.

What I say about actors is you always want to find an actor you can play ball with. You throw the ball at them and you want them to throw it back. Your ball playing is a lot better when you play with good ballplayers, like any sport. Every actor I know feels the same way.

Unfortunately, when you're an actor you have to act. It's not like you can sit in your living room, your bedroom, your study or whatever and act with yourself. It requires having somebody to respond to.

I'm doing music, and we both want to do some drama.

My background with Cummings was rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, but Tuesday liked to walk in and do the scene. I must say that she was really wonderful. Aggravating, but wonderful.

In the kind of roles I do, you can do them and walk away from it and have a really nice time.

I think, you know, actors rely on each other all the time.

I love working with other actors and other people - you know, stand-up - it's lonely; it's just you out there and the audience. But it's fun working with other actors. I love doing that, too.

What I've learned in my career as an actor is that you're only as good as your collaborators. The process is many things, but it is wholly collaborative, particularly with something like 'Westworld,' which is a 10-episode-per-season gig, and we're just now on the 7th episode.

Working with Kal Penn in 'Namesake' was funny at times. What we did was so real. We had fun on and off the sets, too.

Acting is about reacting, and it's not easy to do that when you don't have a good co-star.

For me, you have to do as much work as you can beforehand and, once you get on stage or set, throw it out the window because you need to be collaborative. You shouldn't have too many ideas about where it goes before you get into the room with the director and other actors.

Acting is completely different from the standup world. You have these 12- or 14-hour days, but you have a great time doing it. It's like hanging out with your friends.

Acting is just about the script and the director giving you notes. In improv, it's more about trusting that the group will carry you.