There is such a thing as my kind of actor, and how well they pull off my dialogue is a very, very important part of it.
I never work from the script. I get the script more or less.
I'm not a classically trained actor. I'm not a product of Stavlovski method or anything like that.
There are some similarities, I think, with all the characters I play. I'm not a guy who sees the desire to transform with each part; I'm not a piece of clay.
I think the more the actor lets you know what he thinks of the character, the less the audience cares - like a comedian who laughs at his own jokes.
The thing about Robin Givens as an actress is that she doesn't back away from anything.
I never really thought of myself as being an action hero or a leading man or any of that. I'm a character actor.
I would say that the woman's ability to multi-task and to be maternal in instinct, it fosters a different approach to the character that makes sense as an actor.
Scarlett Johansson was wonderful in 'Lost in Translation,' and then, seemingly within a couple of weeks, she became completely Hollywoodised. I was shocked. I didn't recognise her. I hope to God it's just a phase.
I feel I should never do passive characters. They don't work for me.
Any good actor is a character actor.
I'm just glad that the whole John Wayne persona of a man is sort of old school now, because I'd never be able to do that. If that was the going rate today, I wouldn't be working.
I would loved to be called a character actor.
You know, I've never been much of a method actor. I feel like, with every project I go in extremely prepared and I like to have a good time.
Often, when Jim Carrey plays it straight, all of the vitality is drained from his face; he looks like a root-canal patient trying out a pleasant expression for his oral surgeon.
I try to play serious scenes a little funny and the comedy a little serious.
I'm a bit hyperactive as an actor, I like to keep moving.
As an audience, if you see 1800s or something, it more often seems that the actors are carrying the weight of the time. It always has a Shakespearean tone to it. To me, that always feels very theatrical and very unrelatable.
My natural self is John Goodman. If I relaxed, I'd be him.
Well my taste wasn't very good when I first started out. But later, when I began to appreciate the art of acting, I would say the actress I most admire is Vanessa Redgrave.
I think when someone who's known for doing drama does a comedy but just tries to be funny, that's a mistake.
Reacting is so important to the craft of acting.
With any character I play, I gravitate to the juxtaposition and humor.
I don't mind acting in Hindi films, but the script has to suit me. It has to be a boy-next-door role because that's the image I have in Tamil cinema.
I honestly never considered myself an actor. An actor would be someone like Paul Muni or Spencer Tracy. I was more of a personality.
