Wentworth Miller Quotes

I have been thinking a lot about what we see in villains, how we relate to villains, and what it is about certain villains that we actually empathize with. Like Macbeth. We're not supposed to like a guy who kills the king and takes over, but there's something about him we're really fascinated by.

I like to think what I bring to the table is kind of a sympathetic and endearing quality, even while I'm playing outcasts or characters that end up in outlandish situations.

Nobody's really unsympathetic, I think. People do good and bad things. If a character's totally unsympathetic, they're not real and I'm not interested.

I hate telling that story to people who've been struggling for years.

I'm drawn to villains that are three-dimensional and raw and that I can kind of see in my own life.

I think that no matter how dark a person is, the more you learn about them, the more you understand about their life, the more you can sympathize with them or even root for them.

If you don't care for the villain, if you don't love him and hate him at the same time, then he's just boring.

But think of the last guy. For one minute, think of the last guy. Nobody's got it worse than that guy. Nobody in the whole world.

No actor can play a villain if they don't sympathise with him or her - otherwise the character just becomes a two-dimensional caricature.

When I'm creating characters, I just want to create characters that I can relate to, and be as honest about them as people as I can be. That's what I want to see when I go to the movies.

I like the opportunity to play characters who have these dark sides but make the audience empathize with them. You want them to think there is some kind of sweeter, softer side to it.

I want the reader to be in the shoes of everyday people who are facing incredible dangers and wonder if they would make the same choices.

Maleficent has suffered abuse in the past, and there's a reason why she is now as furious as she is. And I think that children who have been outcast and abused in any way will relate to her. There's a beautiful side to her; she's not just a dark person. She has all these facets. And that is interesting.

But you can't realize, you can't know what another person goes through.

I can play a man who's despicable. But I'll still look inside him to find a point of connection. If I can find that kernel, audiences will relate to me.

I love to make even villains people you can relate to. When you find out who did it, I think you almost like the person, which is not easy to do.

The bottom line always remains the same: What is the basic humanity of the character? How do I make them resonate with the reader?

Scooby's the greatest cartoon character ever. He isn't cute like Mickey or smart like Bugs or fearless like Woody and Buzz - he's a talking dog who's more human than I am. It's his humanity and imperfections that make him special.

I think a villain who starts his morning looking in the mirror, wringing his hands, and going, 'How can I be evil today?' is not an interesting villain. An interesting villain is a person who you understand on some level, I think.

You can't play a guy who's just a snake, because what do you draw on?

One of the great things about fiction is you can use an issue and describe it in human terms.

I loved the challenge of being able to take a character who could be thrown away as 'crazy' and making her identifiable to the audience - also, to give her a vulnerability that people would cheer for.

I think that it's possible to have someone who is an anti-hero, who does tear hearts out and break necks, and you can still relate to him on a certain level.

I like movies that make you semi fall in love with the villain so you have sympathy for him.

At the end of the day, what I try to bring to villainous characters is a sense of humanity.