Michael Caine Quotes

I just try not to look at any role as a comedic role or a dramatic role. I just try to stay in the movie I'm in.

An actor can change himself to fit a part, whereas a personality has to change the part to fit himself. The personality has to say it his own way.

As an actor, you try to put a little bit of yourself in everything you do.

I don't think anyone can do any character that doesn't have at least some ounce of themselves in it. You are who you are, and your brain is drawing on things that you've experienced.

I guess every character has a little bit of the actor - I guess for every character you play, the actor has to allow a little bit of their own character to show through.

There is a large element of me in every role I do.

The way I approach acting when there's a real life character, it's sort of like a Venn diagram. What I come up with is some amalgam of the two of us.

I try to bring my own style to a role, but I can't change how people think of me.

My James Bond wasn't any different to my Saint or my Persuaders or anything else I've done. I've just made everything that I play look like me and sound like me.

I just don't play a character for the heck of it. Rather, I always look for a human element in every character that I play.

I don't play roles, I play characters. There is a vast difference between the two.

For me, as an actor, there is no commercial or independent or art cinema. For me, it's a character that is given by the director. And it is a task for me that I have to fulfill it to the best of my ability regardless of the kind of film that it is.

It wasn't like a Maths test where I have to strain to get it right. I feel very close to Luna so acting her was just natural. And if I had got too nervous I'd have done terribly.

As an actor you get categorized by other people, but it's not like I arrange myself into comedy mode or serious mode. If it's good writing you just have to play it true - if it's funny, it's funny. But obviously you don't want it to be amusing if you're playing Hedda Gabler!

Every role you do is kind of a side of yourself. That's why they give you the part.

You have to carry so many archetypes as an actor, especially as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed one.

The better I am at observing moments in life, the better I'll be at showing them in my acting.

I guess you should approach the roles differently when they're actual people who have been, this is the difference. Getting the accent exact, or the hair exact is less important in a situation like this.

You've got to understand that in Bollywood, every actor is an instrument, and yet a human being. They come to the set with a set agenda, believing, 'This is who I am, this is what I want, and no, I am not going to become that character you want me to.'

I'm just an actor. If it's drama, I add as much humour as the part will stand. And if it's a comedy, add as much drama as you can, so it balances out; you don't wanna be too serious.

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

In terms of the character itself, I can't really say that I find anything really difficult. I enjoy the character so much I don't perceive difficulty in trying to be him. It's just a matter of how do we get there.

Changing writing styles is like an actor taking on a different part.

I've given every maid I've portrayed soul and heart.

Well, from an acting point of view, I bear no relation, I don't look like Alfred Kinsey at all, but I thought somewhere in my artist's soul, my actor's soul, I could capture something of the spirit of the man.