Pankaj Kapur Quotes

Good directors can bring certain things out of you, with their intensity or gentleness or sensitivity or understanding. They can make an actor feel he can do no wrong.

I worked with creative people who were very demanding of me, and they helped me reach performances that I never could have gotten on my own without being pushed and having trust in them. And so I know the best way to get the best performance of an actor, and that's not to coddle them or to baby them. It's to help them; it's to push them.

Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.

I always try to keep the confidence of the actors, and try my best to make them feel comfortable or confident.

I always had to genuinely like the actors I worked with and use my enthusiasm and vision to give them confidence to push their creativity and their humor.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

To know that so many people have our backs and support us is an awesome thing. You need people saying, 'Hey man, I'm with you all the way.'

When the gaffer believes in you, there is nothing better.

I'm trying to be the coach. My actors are my players. They're doing things that I'm too cowardly to do myself.

When somebody shows up and they believe in you, it makes all the difference.

If I can tell my story, and help anybody else in the interim, then that's icing on the cake.

That's how you get a performance - they put trust in you.

You have to give guys tools to win with, and if they have success with them then they believe in you. If you don't have anything in your bag to work with, then they won't believe.

You know, you can only lead them from behind.

Sometimes all you need is just for somebody to believe in you in order to be able to accomplish maybe what you never thought you could.

You have to lead people gently toward what they already know is right.

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.

In the end, leadership comes down to consistency and strong, confident action upon which the team can rely - and this doesn't mean imposing a bunch of rules.

I actually started as a director, but then I saw Mark Ruffalo in 'You Can Count on Me,' and I thought to myself, 'I want to do that.'

When I was 13, I told Henry Winkler I wanted to act. He said, Do it and don't let anyone stand in your way. His validation just made it all the more true. I haven't stopped thanking him since.

And at the same time, you are of course a performer, but it's very important that you understand that your role as a performer is to get the best performance from those wonderful colleagues that you have the chance to work with.

The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to convince them by everything you do and by your everyday attitude that you are wholeheartedly supporting them.

Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.

I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.

People look for their leadership to lead.