Stella Adler Quotes

Obviously an actor draws on his own experience.

I like to rehearse. We did a lot of rehearsals for 'Moneyball,' but it is really individual to the actor. It's not like, 'Here is my process, everybody. Fit in.'

I am trained in theatre, and so I take time to study and get into the skin of a character.

When I'm given a role, I'm consumed by a passion to bring to life a character that exists only on paper. I mull over the character for days and internalise his feelings.

When I do a character, I try to base it on someone I have met or an experience I've had.

What makes an actor, I think, is a combination of a deep curiosity about life and a case of the crazies.

I do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

In choosing any role, I ask the same questions: what kind of part is it? is the role challenging? does the director have a vision? is the story moving? etc.

I find it easier to play someone who is so far from me because you create someone - you build this person based on the story and the script, with the director.

Actors aren't all the same. They have very different skills. There are actors of intellect who are very thoughtful about everything they do... and then there are actors of instinct who don't know what they're doing until the cameras roll... My father was actually quite thoughtful about what he did, while my mother was much more instinctual.

As much as I know people love the method and what you can draw out of yourself, a lot of acting is very imaginative.

Acting is not just impersonating your character.

I've approached every character I've ever played with a poem, first and foremost.

I'm not really a guy who draws on things from my own past. I think if you're a competent actor with a good imagination, and if it's on the page, it makes your job a lot easier. If it's well written, it allows your imagination to run wild and draw inspiration from that.

I think the two main tools actors have are the imagination of what other people have gone through, to connect with and through research, and there's one's own experience.

As an actor the best thing you have is your imagination. You're not going to have all the experiences, but you draw on the things that you know. So I think you definitely use the things that you're familiar with to your advantage.

As an actor you bring some of your own experiences which can make things easier. You build off of it, but your imagination is always the best thing you have as far as creating things I think specifically for what that character is going through. But you're definitely drawing obviously upon things that you can connect to, and then you kind of mold the change that you're making into something that's right for the character.

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

I'm the sort of actor who likes to talk about what we're going to do.

I'm not a method actor per se, but if I'm playing a character that, at its core of its persona, has experiences I don't have, I try to search out and get firsthand experiences of similar sorts so I have something to fantasize about.

I'm a technician. I don't go for the get-into-the-role stuff. I read the lines and play the scenes.

As a filmmaker I find it much more rewarding to work with actors who are classically trained. It's about the work and only the work.

I guess I'm probably a Method actor; I don't know... I just think of it as staying in the zone.

Some actors get by with behaving, not acting. You've got to sell the effect. I act more in the 'Nightmare' movies because it's not like me. I'm acting, not reacting.

Good acting comes from finding the essence of a character.