Aidan Quinn Quotes

I don't like to practice ahead of time what I'm going to say.

The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.

I'm not one to dwell on rehearsal or preparation.

The key to Presidential debates is to rehearse those [dramatic] moments but don’t let them look scripted.

My strength lies in prepping. I'm not someone who can just walk onto the set and perform.

I usually go in ahead of time, like at a rehearsal, or a meeting, and tell them, "It may appear that I'm going to go haywire, but I'm not." I always map out what I'm going to do. Still, a lot of it is improvised.

I think people who are regarded as better actors must have better instincts because, at the end of the day, once they say 'action,' it's you who has to do it right. You can do all the research and preparation or none at all, but it's your instincts that tell you, 'No, I'll do it like this.'

If you're saying the same line 10 times and making it look like you just came up with it, that's acting.

If I do a bit on stage, I prepare too much. Those bits are all really, really carefully written, and overwritten, and researched. I really don't feel like I can wing it. So I write it out word for word, and when I'm onstage I'll improvise around it.

If the script's good, everything you need is in there. I just try and feel it, and do it honestly. I also don't learn things for auditions, because I feel like it's just a test of memorizing rather than being real. Maybe every other actor would think that was terrible, I don't know. But it seems to have worked for me, so far.

In a way, as an actor, you do all the preparation and then you want to forget it and just play the scene. As a director, you can't forget it because somebody will remind you that you forgot something. But you can know your plan well enough that you still have a certain amount of freedom.

I think it's still kind of weird to memorize a line, because you're supposed to 'be' this person, you know? So then its like, if I'm really this person, how can I be in the moment if I know there's just one line I'm supposed to say? It doesn't feel natural. I always just kind of want to say whatever comes up.

You get into this situation, performing for T.V., where you have to speak with utter sincerity. It's just like the radio. You have to say it like you mean it, even though the thing you're saying is actually planned out.

I think you start to prepare the minute you read something.

Acting is not about dressing up. Acting is about stripping bare. The whole essence of learning lines is to forget them so you can make them sound like you thought of them that instant.

Meticulous planning will enable everything a man does to appear spontaneous.

As an actor, you have to have your history.

I research every part thoroughly. I talk it out with my actor friends, but then I throw it all away when I get to the set. You have to be spontaneous.

I have learned a lot from jazz. I compare good acting to jazz music. The more you study and prepare as an actor, the more equipped you are to live in the moment. Just like the gifted musicians in my dad's quartet, it takes a courageous actor to be free.

Actors seem brave and unpredictable, but they're spontaneous as a tax return.

The day before I work, I don't like to even look at the script and let whatever happens happen on the set. But I do prepare a lot. I'm a big believer in that.

I'm a lazy actor, lazier than you would think. I don't usually do a lot of research.

When you're auditioning, hold on loosely. Work hard on it at home, like you always do. But when you're in the room, let a choice happen to you rather than forcing a choice that's not ready to come. You'll surprise yourself and, hopefully, the people in the room.

I like to rehearse before blocking.

Whenever I was done with a scene, I'd go back to my trailer, relax and go over my lines. I'd think, 'I can't wait to get out there.'