Noah Baumbach Quotes

A wonderful but kind of a terrible truth about acting is that you actually get to a point where you become content with an impossible task: it is really impossible to properly prepare. You kind of have to start over every time.

I research every part thoroughly. I talk it out with my actor friends, but then I throw it all away when I get to the set. You have to be spontaneous.

It's my job to be able to deal with adverse conditions as well as kick well in good conditions. I just look to prepare to go out to do well no matter what it is.

I like collaborating with actors. I love finding that moment where it all comes together.

I think, like most actors, it's really exciting to be challenged.

For me, the more talented the actor is that I'm working with, the easier my job is because the circumstances of a scene are easier to believe when the people around you are in the moment just as much as you are.

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

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

I don't like improv at all. It terrifies me. I like to know exactly what I'm going to say. Being surprised does make me a better actor. Anytime I'm afraid of something that makes me rise to the occasion, it scares me, but it's what makes great actors - being in the moment.

It is hard sometimes to see how other actors are working when you are working with them.

I try not to think about any of the production side of things. If you do, you tend to get unfocused and distracted. I just try to think about the character and the scene and what I'm doing.

The more and more I work with really great actors, the more it's about opening yourself up to what they bring.

I think people who are regarded as better actors must have better instincts because, at the end of the day, once they say 'action,' it's you who has to do it right. You can do all the research and preparation or none at all, but it's your instincts that tell you, 'No, I'll do it like this.'

Working with actors is something I've never done before. I find it tremendous. It's hard work.

Preparation is definitely important, but it depends on the kinds of roles I do. Like, I completely identify with my character in 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.' I had to be myself and I didn't have to actually prepare for it.

Acting is an imaginative leap, really, isn't it? And imaginations prosper in different circumstances.

If I have an audition, I go to the audition in character. I'm in character when I walk in the room. I mean, I'm still sweet to everyone, but I'm very much the character.

Boxing is a lot of preparation and then improvising, so there are parallels to being an actor.

When I rehearse, it ends up doing more harm than good. I think I work a little bit better when it's right off the bat. Mostly, I try to wrap my head around a role as much as I can without rehearsing and then kind of make it as fresh as possible on the day.

Mostly I work really unconsciously, and I think if the scenes are really well written, which they are, and if I just throw myself into it, I don't really think about it.

As actors, you play people who are not yourselves!

I've been on projects before where there's no rehearsal, and you walk in on set and that's literally the first time you've ever played the character, and then I've had times where there's been three weeks of rehearsal. I like both.

And when I go to see plays, I marvel at how people can do that. I've done it all my life, but I still find it mystical.

As soon as you get two actors in a room and they're locking eyes, they're doing a scene.

One of the exciting and enjoyable aspects of acting is being in the environment with another actor.