Uwe Boll Quotes

I think the reason you use an actor is if they are right for the role. Most of the high-profile stars tend to be good actors. That's probably what led to their fame. So if they are right for the movie, you can certainly use them. But I don't want to, not at all. Stardom and Hollywood overpower the ideas and the film.

I feel like casting is the most important aspect of making movies.

I think the choice of actors that we have is a little more varied and rich here in New York than in L.A.

Casting is really exciting. With 'Twilight,' I wasn't involved at all with the casting in the original. They kept me in the loop, which was great. They'd be like, 'Hey Kristen Stewart's gonna do it' and I was like, 'Really? Awesome.'

I came to Los Angeles only after filming 'A Good Day to Die Hard,' when I was cast in the independent movie 'Delirium.' Director Lee Roy Kunz was looking everywhere for a Russian actress. He saw my photos, and only then he learned where I starred before! Eventually, I spent several months in the U.S., and we made the film quickly.

With movies, they have a certain person or style that they're looking for. It's not that they don't like you, but maybe you're not the person that's right for their movie. That happens a lot.

I keep saying this, but the most important part of directing is casting, and the rest of it is pretty easy.

'L.A. Confidential' was written with me in mind, but Russell Crowe got the part. Go figure.

With 'The Last Picture Show,' Peter Bogdanovich brought the script to the company that made it. They liked it, and they gave him the money he needed to make the film. He cast it with the actors that he thought were right for the parts. Now, it's the reverse.

Nick was cast first in both 'Smashed' and 'Kings.'

There are so few movies that still cast on chemistry. Now it's often, like, this person's movies make this amount of money, and this person's movie makes that amount of money, so let's put them together.

I was doing theatre when somebody noticed me and referred me to Raju Hirani. And Raju saw me on camera, and there, I was a heavy guy with long hair. But I got selected for the role of Joy in '3 Idiots.'

A lot of amazing films are happening, a lot amazing TV shows are happening, and people are not afraid to pick actors instead of stars.

Casting is an art, and if you're interested in people, like I am, casting is essential.

Usually people in the acting business end up both in front of and behind the camera. Working for so long in the business, I know how it works. It's not too much of a challenge; the challenge is making it all come together, being in charge of a huge team of people that you trust.

Some people come to you because if you're in their movie, it'll help them raise money. And some people come to you because they think you're the person to play the part.

There are so many things that go into casting that you just never know.

I'm pretty sure no one's reading action scripts saying, 'This has got to be Ed Helms.'

I think it's worse for actors, though, because people have to choose you. As a director, I get to choose the actors, but most of the time, actors have to be chosen in order to work.

In the horror genre, unfortunately you sometimes have the studio tell you, "No, go with more unknown people because it's a scary movie," and I disagree.

In terms of the stars, the only ones I cast were Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins. I was in Los Angeles working and a lot of this took place on the telephone. I'd met Maggie [Smith] once and I'd come back-stage, which I'm usually loathe to do because as an actor you don't want people coming back because you want to get home [laughs].

This business is hard. People and producers and studios and finance guys get caught up in saying, "Women don't sell movies," or "This person doesn't sell foreign," or "You have to attach guys first," or "People don't want to see women do this." I've heard those things so many times that I've actually heard myself say them, a number of times.

I played the mom in Spy Kids when I was, like, 27. So it was ridiculous. But [Robert Rodriguez] was like, "You know what? If we do our job right, no one will question it." And nobody did.

Most indie shoots, or any kind of film shooting, even TV, it's out of Los Angeles, unfortunately. I wish that would change, that people could work where their families are, across the board - crew, cast. I wish we could all stay here.

So, most of it was done over the phone. But one of the first things I did as a director, because it's one of the first things you should do, even though most don't, is to ask good actors who they think is right for the part. They know better than anybody. But without missing a beat Maggie said Pauline Collins. I didn't know Pauline because I hadn't seen Shirley Valentine, but then I saw this thing that she did with Woody Allen [You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger], in which she was wonderful as a psychic, and I said to her on the phone: "The dialogue seemed improvised."