Amy Poehler Quotes

I work with my acting coach to help me get into character and do pronunciation drills and tongue twisters to help me deliver lines.

I've never been in an acting class in my life.

Part of the fun of acting is the research, finding out about other people.

In acting class, teachers talk about how the 'givens' of a situation help define a character.

I am not a method actor, though I studied for a year with Lee Strasburg.

As an actor, the training I received was that I walk through the world as an observer of life and of people. My job is to actually be looking out all the time and watching people.

And at NYU, I went to the Atlantic Theater Company, and they have two main points. One of them is to always be active in something instead of just feeling it. And the other is figuring out your character.

Basically, the way you get into any role is just doing research on the type of character you're playing.

My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.

I know a lot of actors who get a part and then they dissect it and they want to change it and they want to add stuff. I'm always amazed and so impressed by actors who do that.

I am a really writer-oriented actor.

As an actor, you pay attention very closely to everything that happens to you, and you're constantly watching others as well, trying to just find out where everything comes from.

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.

My only qualifications to be an actor were that I'm daring, and I'm a quick learner. I've always learnt by watching what other people do. It's the same with my writing. I write what I know. Structurally, I write in a very undisciplined way.

I go to acting class, and in acting class, I'm not the girl that brings in romantic comedies; I'm the girl that wants to do 'Girl Interrupted' all the time.

I have no idea what 'method actor' means.

I'm not really into method acting - the way I was taught was the good old-fashioned British way of just doing your research and getting on with it.

I always treat all the jobs I do as an acting class.

One of the reasons why good actors are good is that they have poor impulse control. If you put them in front of a camera, they respond as if it was actually happening, in real time, rather than doing it after several takes.

Honestly, soaps are great training. You're doing 90-plus pages a day. It was my acting class, where I built my foundation for showing up and being professional.

Just observing - that's the best skill of all for an actor!

I worked with my acting coach one-on-one for hours and hours, every single day for two months, before even setting foot on set or putting on Jessica Jones's clothes.

If you're playing a real person, then you want to do a certain amount of research, but that's only going to be so useful to you. Each role requires a different kind of approach to get ready.

I am not into method acting.

Every actor has a method.