Ali Fazal Quotes

I really take acting seriously.

My acting career began on the streets of New York. When I was a cop, I played many impressive roles, from derelict to a doctor, and my life often depended on my performance.

In acting, you have to pull from real-life situations, from people, to help develop a character.

As a filmmaker I find it much more rewarding to work with actors who are classically trained. It's about the work and only the work.

Some actors get by with behaving, not acting. You've got to sell the effect. I act more in the 'Nightmare' movies because it's not like me. I'm acting, not reacting.

I do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

I think the first thing is don't give up. If you love the craft. If you love being a detective and discovering who a character is and the detail of how they walk and what kind of shoes they wear and what did they do yesterday and what's important to them. I definitely advise actors to learn about the craft.

I try to steal from the best. Suck it all in. 'Taxi Driver' is really a bible for film actors, a master class. A lot of emotional power, a lot of emotional depth but it's contained and you just see the tip of the iceberg.

I love an acting challenge, and I love getting to sit down with my script and do all my drama work.

Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.

I love to play different roles. That's just the kind of actor I am.

When you drop your guard in films, the acting process compensates. You get lazy and you start acting.

I'm an emotional actor. When I'm doing a scene, I really believe it. I live the part as long as I'm in the scene.

For me, acting is a series of impressions rather than trying to find one line through to the end, which risks becoming more of a presentation.

If I were to play somebody who ran a fish and chip shop, I would not work in a fish and chip shop for three months. Staring at chips is not going to help me in my performance.

I've learned by watching films that inspired me and people who inspired me like Robert Redford and Paul Newman. I love old school acting. I love subtlety, and I also love being spontaneous, and that's really what works for me.

Acting is the only medium were people think they can just stand up and do it because they can say lines, but that is not so much the case. You have to study styles and techniques.

Since I was from the theater, that's how I learned how to go through the process of being a character. That's how I learned, and that's what I was comfortable doing. And then, the first feature films, I'm sure I was no fun because I did not want to be spontaneous in that filmic way that really can work for you.

I'm always practicing lines, researching, trying to be fresh, and fully trying to become the characters I play. That's how I roll.

A lot of actors and actresses pull from past experiences.

In terms of pure acting, my role model has always been Philip Seymour Hoffman; I really always loved what he did. I love what Mark Ruffalo does. When I was younger, I liked Cate Blanchett a lot. These are all actors who are given stories and allowed to carry the whole story.

When you get to set, you don't try to play the plot; you just play the character.

When I saw John Turturro in 'Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,' I realized that was the kind of actor I wanted to be.

I like to prepare for my roles well, so you can call me a method actor to an extent.

I think I take away a naturalistic approach to acting from doing 'The Larry Sanders Show,' a way to put aside acting and just exist in the world of what's being handed to me.