Leigh Whannell Quotes

As an actor, no matter what, you're at the whim of so many other people all the time.

The actor is in the hands of a lot of other people, over which he has no control.

Anytime I audition for something, it's always a question of whether or not the people I'm auditioning for understand I'm an improviser and I like to do that, and if they like that or if they just want someone who's going to do what's written.

I was a theater actor back in the U.K., and you knew the whole play, so you could plot your storyline and character. And then I did 'Lost' and didn't know, and it was kind of frustrating, but I enjoyed it.

Actors put ourselves in awkward positions all the time.

When you work as an actor, you've got to feel safe even in what appears to be the simplest things.

I'm attracted to roles that are unpredictable, and if I can get my hands on something like that, I'm thrilled. I like performances where you don't know what's coming, moment to moment.

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

The actor already comes with emotions to the scene: fear, the fear of being in front of the camera. It is this fear that spurs the emotion of the scene. I too am afraid; I don't know exactly what I am searching for. On the set, we are all participating in this fear together.

Thankfully, I have a background as an actor, and you learn how to live in that world of not knowing what's going to happen next.

Being an actor means being an instrument for someone else. I want to give myself completely.

I don't think I would be a good actor! People enjoyed 'Dancing With the Stars' because I was myself, and every time they told me to say something, I would say my own words, so I don't think I could follow a script well!

Acting, at least for me, is very unreal, and when I'm doing it, I actually feel embarrassed.

I like to remind myself how hard acting is. I do parts in friends' stuff.

With acting, I always felt like I didn't have control of it. It was all about other people giving me a job.

I found acting tough; it takes a lot out of you if you have no technique.

In film work, you do the best you can under the given circumstances, but you don't have control. At least, I don't.

With kiting, you have to land a trick, and in that instant you know whether you won or lost - I knew I could become the best in the world if I trained. But with acting, there are different variations; there's not a right or wrong way. It's so hard because it's so out of your hands. I have no idea what's going to happen!

Actors are such wonderful creatures and such wonderful instruments. It's always different on the page or in my head. I hear it differently. I see it differently. And then, you give it to an actor, and it comes alive in a way that you didn't expect.

I like having the script before I start. With new plays, you're constantly developing as you're doing it. It's really frightening. You don't quite know how it's going to end up.

Sometimes you read a script, and it's like, 'You'll improv, and this is just a blueprint of what the scene could be,' and that's never a good sign. And it's never encouraging as an actor to take that on, really.

It's weird to have no control over something that you're involved in.

Auditioning is so different than doing the work in some ways. It's very much about solving the scene, I think, and coming in with a strong take, but not having it set in stone.

I'm not a natural-born actor. So it's been a very slow learning curve for me.

There's nothing obvious or predictable in acting. That's what it means to be in this profession.