Naseeruddin Shah Quotes

My goal has been to be a great character actor.

God, I love John Cassavetes. Throughout my acting career and continuing to be an actor and grow, I think there have been so many outstanding actresses, and I hope I can live up to the things they created and continue that on. I think Gina Rowlands is an amazing actress.

I think all actors are supposed to be character actors.

Any good actor is a character actor.

I want to be doing smart, fun, complex characters like most actors want to do.

When I believe in an actor, I believe there is something in that actor.

As always, with acting, you can't be too self-conscious. You shouldn't care about what people are thinking about you at the time because they're not caring about you, they're caring about the character.

I want to play an action hero. I'm ready for roles that totally aren't me.

There's lots of incredible roles out there that I'd love to tackle, but there's a select group of actors I find myself gravitating towards, like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Sean Penn or Daniel Day-Lewis - real transformational actors.

Working with a great actor is really educational.

Well, I love acting, and I love acting quick.

The worst acting is about imitation.

I really love being a character actor.

Fonda and Gary Cooper had the best sense of timing of all the actors I knew.

As an actor, our very palette is one of imagination. So it is a walk onto an empty space and then imagine the world beyond it is what we do.

What's the classical moment that every actor or actress deals with? A tragic thing. They get that blank, faraway look in their eyes. But in life, it's not that way.

I think the first British actor who really worked well in cinema was Albert Finney. He was a back-street Marlon Brando. He brought a great wittiness and power to the screen. The best actor we've had.

I just don't believe you're capable of being an actor unless you have a desire to experience your emotions in a public way.

It's no accident that Tony Hopkins is a wonderful film actor.

I think you ultimately have to love who you're playing. You have to have that kind of feeling. You have to have passion for the person.

I think it's incumbent on actresses to bring something else to the part which isn't in the script.

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.'

It's very good for me to remember what actors go through.

As long as you have the acting chops and the desire to get inside a character, you can play anything.

The secret of being a great actor is a love of food.