Mariska Hargitay Quotes

I've always approached acting from a very workmanlike perspective.

I was trained by Method acting teachers and we were taught that aside from whatever gift you may or may not have or the level of that gift, that you were obliged to know how to build a table. It's a craft. It's like being a ballerina or a violinist.

It's just acting. I take acting seriously but up to a point.

It's what I learn from the great actors that I work with. Stillness. That's all and that's the hardest thing.

I just want to act. I just want to do the work.

One of the first lessons you learn as an actor is to listen.

I take every role seriously. Personally, I never look at any role as Michael White. I've done that my entire life.

I've taken that with me since working with him; in order to be William Hurt, you have use every moment like he does.

Ryerson helped me because I was around acting all the time. It was pretty much all I thought about, even if I didn't really get to practice every day; I definitely thought about it. Actually a lot of it was just sitting and watching, especially in my last year, but I think a good actor learns from everything.

My acting technique is a combination of a lot of different ones. A lot of it is Meisner.

I love to prepare for my roles.

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

Acting is all about big hair and funny props... All the great actors knew it. Olivier knew it, Brando knew it.

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

Working with a great actor is really educational.

Sometimes I think of movie acting as advanced pretend.

I had an acting coach while I was doing the show and every week I could see my work improving. I really liked working on the show because I was learning new things every day.

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

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

I spent a lot of years just learning my craft and falling down in front of the camera.

I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have to know where the lens is, what the shot is, and where you're moving. And then you have to trick yourself into an emotional state where you believe this stuff is actually happening.

The secret of being a great actor is a love of food.

All actors do that. Should do that and do that. For the most part. I say all actors. I'm exaggerating, but you know who does and who doesn't. Vince is a wonderful young actor who knows his work and did a beautiful job on this film.

All the things you can do to prepare for a role that free you, in the moment, are great. You have this muscle memory for things. You don't have to act it as much, once you've done it enough.

The actors I admire are character actors.