Jiang Wen Quotes

As a director, you try to find what is creative.

I love being creative. I love acting, but I also love directing because you get to have a vision for the whole and bring that vision to fruition.

You know to me, being a good actor, the most important quality is you've got to love to play, and to just be open to anything.

When you're acting and directing, you're standing there acting with another actor, and you're trying to do your performance, and at the same time you're watching their performance, and making sure the lights are in the right place, and if the person is wearing the right wardrobe. All these things are going on in your head.

I'm literally open to any medium that will have me.

When you do a lot of acting your entire life, you see the entire set from one point of view. To have a chance to step back and pull it all together is really exciting. You want to do it all; you want to have a hand in everything.

I love improv. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' the script was really great, but the directors were open to letting you try different things. And that felt like a muscle I hadn't exercised in a really long time.

I have immense admiration for the writer/directors and director/actors who just seamlessly do both jobs at the same time.

I love the work, I love being in front of the camera and working with actors and directors and creating something. For me, it's like learning everyday.

Directing is really exciting. In the end, it's more fun to be the painter than the paint.

Directing feels great; I'm really happy to be doing this.

It's just about being an entertainer; it's about having all those tools over the years to do all sorts: films, musicals, playing a bit of piano, running a quiz show - it just becomes part of the job.

There's no way I see myself as a director. Direction is far too creative.

I learn a lot as a director from acting in other people's films and just in general. I want to try and be as involved in the art of filmmaking as possible. I feel that the only way to really do that is to take on as many roles as possible, whether it be as an actor, an editor, a director, a cinematographer. Basically, I like to help and be involved, so anything anybody asks me to do, my first reaction is to say "Yes."

When you do improv, you're everything. You're a performer, writer, and director, because you're moving the scene in the direction you want it to go, you're making it up as you go, and you're acting it. You're all of those things, so I always viewed myself that way. And with the films I've done, I've written on them, I've acted in some of them. And even ones I haven't acted in, I've acted them out just to be sure another actor can do them.

I have to be more universal than my projects, but no less innovative.

With theatre, you have to be ready for anything.

Being multi-disciplined is always a good thing.

As an actor, I'm always up for exploring and trying new things.

Having learnt my basics in theatre, I always feel film is a collaborative effort. If you do your part well and help the person in front of you in realising his or her potential, the film invariably comes out good.

Me jumping on a song with Ariana Grande is just showing versatility, you know what I'm saying?

A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.

It's a lot of fun to be a part of films that you don't exactly know how they're going to turn out.

I grew up wanting to be a writer for theatre.

I'm interested in all forms of performance, yet I think it's difficult to be as equally talented in all of them as they call for such different skills. At the moment, I still feel I'm learning and want as much experience and variety as possible.