Tom McCarthy Quotes

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

The most vital thing for an actor to deliver a great performance is to be honest to the role he or she is playing.

Having done a lot of theater, I'm used to sustaining characters over long periods of time.

As an actor, one's role is very much to respond and react to the situation within the context of the character and his world.

When you drop your guard in films, the acting process compensates. You get lazy and you start acting.

I work a lot; I love to compose, ponder, and take notes when preparing for a role. I cut all the scenes, collate the images, form the character and shape its personality, then I make meticulous notes and transcribe each scene on my notebook.

I take my time to get into the mindset of the character and say my lines. I really have to be the person that I am playing.

The camera does not like acting. The camera is only interested in filming behaviour. So you damn well learn your lines until you know them inside out, while standing on your head!

I know people who prepare their roles in such a way that they technically look ahead and memorize their gestures, and then they stick to it. Those that are technically proficient enough can make it seem natural, but they do that and don't really take in what other people are doing.

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

The best actors do not let the wheels show.

You really have to take your time; you have to know your character and your scene. The line you are about to say comes from the moment right before. It's not what's said, it's what is in between the spaces, it's what's in between the lines; that is the most important to play.

Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have.

I'll read a script maybe twice, but I'll think about the role more than I'll rehearse lines.

I think when you take away all, like, the premieres and press stuff and all the special effects, then you just come down to the fact that it's all about acting, and I think that has been the best bit for me.

As an actor, the only thing you have is your instinct and your imagination.

I'm such a carnivorous researcher as an actor - I chew it up like it's meat, and I really don't know how to do that without the people that are producing or creating or writing that which they want me to chew up.

When you get to set, you don't try to play the plot; you just play the character.

Your job as an actor is to piece together whatever you've learned in your training, or whatever you have experienced in your life, to piece together a person.

As an actor, your first priority is the work - immersing yourself in the role, backstory, and bringing that to screen.

Acting is about portraying something... that dedication or learning the script of it is really important in really getting to know a topic.

I like to prepare for my roles well, so you can call me a method actor to an extent.

Once you are in the character, you should let your inner actor take over you.

I perform a role as per the requirements of the script. When it comes to work, I don't have any personal choice with regards to glam or de-glam. As an actor, I enjoy doing everything.

I am neither a method actor nor a trained one. So, I don't generally prepare for any role. Becoming the character and being in that moment are most important.