David Twohy Quotes

It's your job as an actor to fill out the blanks. I love doing that. To fill in the bones.

Good acting is all in the writing. If it isn't on the page, then it really won't make any difference. You cannot act on force of personality alone.

You really have to take your time; you have to know your character and your scene. The line you are about to say comes from the moment right before. It's not what's said, it's what is in between the spaces, it's what's in between the lines; that is the most important to play.

As an actress, it appeals to me because I love the idea of playing those in-between moments, the sort of behavioral stuff that one might not normally see.

The actor should understand the script and come prepared to play the role. At the same time, they should be flexible enough to take the director's input and portray his vision.

An actor will use every piece of information at their disposal, or a good actor will.

For the actors, the talent is to serve the demands that I ask of them, to do it with naturality and truth, and to be honest when we were terrified.

Vary the pace... is one of the foundations of all good acting.

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.

What's interesting about the process of acting is how often you don't know what you're doing.

See, that's the thing: I'm not one of those actors who thinks, 'God, I've got to improvise and make it my own.' No, my first job as an actor is to take what's written and make it work. And then, if they want me to improvise, I'll do that.

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.

Basically, the actor's job is to pay attention to the script.

When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters.

I'm so into playing different characters, even when I was on Nickelodeon. I just observe.

Anyone who has been given the gift of being opposite an actor who gives and gives, it just makes you better.

When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn't acting. It's following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that.

I'm more interested in knowing my cues than my lines. If you know what your cues are, then you know what your reaction is going to be to them. Acting is about reacting, and if I can kind of purely react, that's easier for me.

When people embrace character, there's latzie. It's the stuffing of a scene that's not written. It's not in the stage direction and it's not in the words. When people embrace character, it informs their living, breathing moments in a scene so well.

Literature is an easier way to study acting, because then you can take any kind of spin.

There's no one more willing to do something than an actor when it comes to perfecting a scene.

In acting, you have to pull from real-life situations, from people, to help develop a character.

I auditioned for 'The Office,' and I don't know if it was a role I could do, but I liked the character. You do one take, and you're reading with a person who's just sitting in a chair and not really... you're not playing off someone, which is what I like to do. I like to play around and find the moment.

Stage acting is for me the basic form of acting. If you make films all the time, you have so few possibilities to rehearse. And it's important to rehearse, because it gives you the possibility to try things which are not good!

Acting is really about showing up that day and telling the writers what you feel like saying.