Acting Decisions Quotes

It doesn't matter about the length of the role. I don't do films for the number of scenes. I go for the quality of my character in the film and the impact that I will have.

I don't want to be pretentious about, "yes, I need to move in to the more dramatic roles and express myself and prove to everyone that I'm capable of doing it," it really isn't that, I think that's a bad reason to choose roles. It's more like, who would I be working with and would they be fun to do and entertaining to watch, is it an interesting story or character.

A while ago, I did a television adaptation of 'Bleak House,' and the character I played, as far as I was concerned, had no redeeming features whatsoever. I wasn't about to try to find any; I didn't need to.

There was a time when I was offered two episodes of 'Alias,' that show with Jennifer Garner which J.J. Abrams did back before he became the mega producer and super successful director. I instead decided I wanted to play this family guy on a short-lived UPN 'Second Time Around.' It starred Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker.

I had to say no to 'Fantasy Island' back when I was doing 'Bosom Buddies.'

I don't think I make decisions as an actor based on what I think the fans will or will not want at this point.

Notes are tricky in an audition, because I find, more often than not, my instinct is right. If they have a preconceived notion about the role and it goes against my instinct, unless it makes sense to me, it often throws off what I'm trying to do. Though sometimes they have an insight that I don't because they've been living with the script. I don't have one feeling or another about notes, but it is always a little bit of a red alert when I get one in an audition.

I've never understood why you would turn down a great role.

I just won't sing and dance in a film. But when you have a chance to star in an Abbas-Mustan film, why will anyone let it go? I have been lucky to do films which have been different from each other.

I don't really have choices in the material I get. So I have to make the choices in the way I play the characters.

They wanted me to do Scream 2, and I hate talking about movies I turned down, because it sounds judgmental. There's nothing wrong with horror movies. I enjoy watching them. The main reason I turn a part down is if I think I won't be good.

On a personal level, I don't exactly thrive on the idea of being known as the guy who goes topless - because I also took my shirt off on 'American Horror Story: Coven' - but I think in 'The Last Kingdom,' it's mainly done in the right way.

If I want to kiss, I shall kiss. If I am told that a lovemaking scene is integral to the script, I will consider it.

It's interesting when you get those roles, which seem like nothing on the page, and you kind of subvert them. It's hard to say no.

I don't think there are that many parts I could say unequivocally "I would not play that," but there's lots of parts I read and I think, "I don't really want to do that. I don't really think that's how women act."

Actors make choices for different reasons.

Very bad roles were coming my way, and I didn't want to do them. Hence, I was doing small films like 'Delhi Belly,' where, though the footage wasn't long, the role was good.

It's not like I was trying to be sexy but I had to get fit because I had to be able to do stunts. Also I wanted that, if Bond took his clothes off, he looked like a man who did what he did, which was kill people for a living. I thought the only way to do that was to work out and get fit and buff and get physically into shape.

I don't take my shirt off in every film I do.

For me, choice is the most important thing because I'm going to be an adult actor pretty soon. So I've got to be choosing the right roles now so that by the time I get to that age there will be wide options available.

You know, I'm not saying, 'Oh, because I play a good guy on TV, I need to suddenly be villainous in a movie.' I look at it more like: does this role has a kind of urgency for me in terms of, 'Can I not say no to it for whatever reason?'

My criterion for accepting a role isn't based on what I would like to do. I try to consider what the audience would like to see me do and I thought kids would adore Star Wars.

We were dealing with films that had very prominent roles for women and I felt I was actually contributing something. Many people had wondered why I would want to do a film where the best part was a woman's part. But I wasn't afraid to be the lesser intelligence in a film.

The only thing that I'm not willing to do is really stupid, horribly written sitcoms. It can be tempting during pilot season time, but I realized this a while ago when I almost signed my life away to a stupid pilot.