Michael Kelly Quotes

As an actor, you try to bring as much of yourself to a part to try and create a feeling of authenticity and emotional truth and resonance.

I love to take actors to a place where they open a vein. That's the job. The key is that I make it safe for them to open the vein.

I don't believe there is any character that one can play for that long and not bring a piece of you to it.

People say: 'Oh, it's only acting,' but it's not ever just acting. At least not with me.

As an actor, you can't just imitate someone. You have to get under her skin.

Even great actors who transform who they are still go to a really honest place; I think that's sort of that special skill that actors have.

Real acting is about giving people an insight into a person, letting the audience in.

I think it's important as an actor to stay really ignorant.

I think the most important thing for an actor is reading the script and trying to figure out if you can play that character well. The last thing on my mind is if the director made good movies previously. It's not my job to know if that director's last movie was any good - it's my job to know if I can play the role.

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.

As the actor, you can't go in saying, 'I'm the bad guy.' You've got to think your reasons for doing what you're doing are good.

It's an actor's job to play all the human conditions - light, dark, and medium.

What we do as actors is we go through phases where you superficially learn all this information.

Even when I'm playing a lawyer or a doctor, I want to play a person. A human being.

It sounds maybe a little old fashioned, but the parts I want to play and I do play, you don't want to inject too much of your own personality. What you sacrifice then is a slight mystery.

I'm just thinking I'm just like a normal actor who gets scripts, and I read them, and... if I enjoy reading them, then that's what's exciting, then I get excited about the audition or the project itself.

Acting is not just impersonating your character.

My job as a character actor is to make me fit the character, to serve the character. To present this human being who turns up in a piece of film or entertainment that's going, you know, exist as if it might exist after the film is finished and it existed before the film has started.

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

You've got to bring yourself to any character you do.

I don't see a difference between the idea of what an actor does and what someone supposes a character actor is, really.

When I act, I try to understand the character, why she's behaving like that.

As an actor, I know it is my job to shape myself for a role - any role.

Because I came to acting quite late, I kind of think one of the few attributes that I do have is that I try to be honest with the character, with the writing. I'm not a tricksy actor; I'm not exactly a scenery-chewing kind of actor.

With acting, a lot of it has to come from that real, honest place.