Acting Mentor Quotes

When I was a freshman in high school, my drama teacher, an incredible, inspirational genius, the guy who got me into acting, he encouraged me to get the lead in a musical. They didn't have any guys.

To spend time with Ed Harris... he's an acting hero of mine, so that's a big deal for me.

Darla [from Buffy The Vampire Slayer] was where I grew up. For me, Darla was like going to graduate school for acting. I learned so much with Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They encouraged us to make creative choices with our characters.

I loved working with Bette Davis. Bette Davis was great to work with and a wonderful teacher, and very kind to me. We became good friends.

Ralph Fiennes was a big hero of mine acting-wise growing up and while I was training. I just find him so watchable. He was playing this very intimidating character when we worked together and it certainly felt like he was in character off set as well! He was very cool. Before a scene, he'd be like, "Come on. Let's improvise. Let's just do stuff." But Jesus Christ. He's Ralph Fiennes!

I remember my first actor that I really, really fell in love with was Tom Hanks. I suppose when I was growing up and getting more serious about acting, at that point, he was the biggest actor in the world.

I wasn't really driven to be an actor or anything, but in college I decided to study acting, much to my parents' disappointment. I attended Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers where Bill Esper was, and that is where I really got hooked on the art of acting, and, almost, the chemistry of acting.

I would probably go so far as to say that I couldn't act before I met Richard Ayoade.

Not many people know that it was Manoj Bajpayee who recommended me for a role in 'Aks.'

It was one of those things where you admire and respect a person, and you watch them for almost your entire life - and Meryl Streep was definitely one of those people that inspired me throughout my career. Having a chance to have a scene with her was pretty unreal.

The last movie I did, I was very lucky: I got to work with probably the best actor of our era, Billy Bob Thornton. He's just incredible. I was like a sponge: I soaked up everything he had to say.

I'm an actor. I was trained by Stella Adler, one of the greatest teachers of the world. I was 19 years old, and she frightened me to death. I was her houseboy for a while.

It was a dream come true working with Johnny Depp. He's always been my acting idol. Working with him and watching him work taught me a lot as an actor. He's very down to earth and a lot of fun to hang out with.

I remember liking Betty White a lot. It was one of those things as a little child actress, you get inspired by experienced actresses and actresses that reach out to you.

It was a treat to work with Sarmad Sehbai. I wish actors had more teachers like him.

My acting teacher, Earle Gister. He had a genius for knowing exactly where every one of us were in our development as actors. He always knew precisely what to say or suggest to unlock a moment. He somehow always made it seem like it was our idea. I call him 'The Invisible Hand.'

For me, Domhnall is an acting teacher as much as anything. If I turn out to be half the actor he is, I'll be happy.