Abbie Cornish Quotes

When I am rehearsing for a play, I try to read nothing that might distract my concentration from the work in progress.

When I attack a role, be it TV, film or stage, the first thing I say is, I don't want to know anything. If it's good I don't want to hear it; if it's bad I don't want to hear it. The only thing either thing can do is distract me. I like to stay focused.

The play is on top of me all the time, and I am constantly thinking about it. Even when I leave the theatre, I'll mumble the lines to myself or think about the way the character walks or holds himself.

Sometimes, even when you aren't shooting, 25 percent of your brain is still with your character.

Part of the fun of acting is the research, finding out about other people.

Every actor has their own process. For me, I really need to stay in the pocket. So, if I'm on set and I'm in character, I'm not thinking like a producer. If I'm on set and I'm not in character, wardrobe and make-up, and I'm just coming on set for the moments that I'm not shooting, then I'm able to be the producer.

It's a surprisingly sacrificial job being an actor.

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.

You get involved with a character after spending a long time waiting, and this demands a lot of energy and concentration.

I think one of the mistakes actors make is we're so focused on what we're going to say.

I have to believe in the character to perform it.

I think is very beneficial to relax yourself so that when you are doing it you are not staggering for lines and your concentration is not on what I am going to say - but the scene itself, the character that you are talking to.

Acting, and the privilege of being able to do it for a living, is so important to me. I don't turn up and just hope for the best. I really fret about it. I do my homework; I prepare myself for the experience of playing a particular character.

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

I think the two main tools actors have are the imagination of what other people have gone through, to connect with and through research, and there's one's own experience.

When I'm given a role, I'm consumed by a passion to bring to life a character that exists only on paper. I mull over the character for days and internalise his feelings.

In order to make Alma innocent and open, I had to forget that I'm stressed as an actress because I'm making a film with Paul Thomas Anderson. I had to let go of everything and hold onto the text. The language was like a rope I could cling onto and make my way blindfolded through the shooting.

I never went to stage school or anything like that. It was always plays, productions at school and things like that. The thing for me with acting was it was the only thing I could fully concentrate on. I loved playing sports. I didn't really love studying.

I didn't have to audition. That's common, but it had never happened to me before. Normally, I hate auditioning. I need to stew and think... let the character develop and grow inside me.

I'm the sort of actor who likes to talk about what we're going to do.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

Because I was able to submerge myself into the character, I didn't have to go back and forth. You don't have to work hard to bring emotions. It all just comes naturally, you're there living it.

Once you really understand your role... that's why I think actors get lost in a series. Everybody wants to be the quarterback or the game-winning wide receiver. I've been around long enough and done enough stuff to where I don't feel that way. I just want to do what I do as well as possible.

You have to like the characters you play.

I feel that once you go into rehearsal, you need to focus on the show in the room.