George C. Wolfe Quotes

All good actors are unpredictable, and a little crazy in a good way, because they feel more secure playing other people than themselves.

I always find that it's when a script is not detailed, then I have to do more work as an actor.

I feel like a good director provokes you to ask questions about your character, but doesn't answer them for you.

I love actors. I love working with actors. I really enjoy the process. I love having those in-depth discussions about the interior of their character, and actors really love to discuss that, too. I could talk about that for days with them. They love that, and I love that.

I'm analytical as an actor, and one of the things Quentin did was free me from that.

Whenever you have a role where you don't get to know anything about the character, you have to invent it yourself. You have to feel like it came from somewhere.

I don't prepare for my characters.

There are two schools of thought: There are those actors who explain to you that they know exactly how they're going to do the part... And then there is the other method, which is to have no method at all. This is mine.

I never really thought about what characters I play. I always just wanted different characters.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

First of all, the actor needs to get out of the character's way. You follow the character without judgment or prejudice or preconceived ideas.

As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from the character's point of view and see where it goes.

I'm really quite bad at coming up with plot ideas. I like to create characters and just see what will happen to them when I let them loose!

I hate the analyzing thing. People say, 'Why do you think your character did that? I don't know. I'm not an analyst, and they're not in psychotherapy. Unless it's a film where they're in therapy.

I have had the opportunity to work with Andy Lincoln a lot. He's got a remarkable process. He just has these ways of sinking into the scene and into character that are very physical. He'll make these sounds and these grunts and these moans... I don't know what it is that he's channeling! It lets you know it's okay for you to do that, too.

A lot of actors, whatever movie you're working on, you make up a back story just for your own, to work off, even if the audience doesn't have it revealed to them. I think it's important that the audience makes up their own mind.

I direct as an actor. Many times, I will say, 'Let me try this.' And I'll walk the scene through and see what I can tell the actor about it. I don't know what to tell him until I've actually tried it and seen what the problem is.

The reason I am a good actress, I think, is because the times when I didn't have a good part... and you think, 'What the hell do you do with it?' You have to figure something out.

One of the first things I was taught as an actor was, 'Don't judge the character.'

I learn from Kevin Spacey and Tom Hardy, watching these guys work, the things they all do differently. Tom never stops exploring and discovering, take after take. His mind never turns off.

As an actor, you have to find reasons why your character made her decisions, and you have to empathise with her.

In acting, one should look at the film in totality. Improvisations should only be made keeping in mind the limits of a character. Always believe in team work.

My character has to be alive. It can't be a mere prop, and it has to have a life of its own. I need to have that space to play around and the scope to interact with the people around me. That freedom would give me a lot of margin to improvise with.

When I read a script, the important thing is that I can connect in some way with that character and have some idea from what his story is that I can tell that story too, because that's all acting is, is storytelling.

When I'm playing any of my characters, I totally go into the realm of the character. That's when I'm able to come up with the most creative stuff, and I believe that's what connects with the audience.