You can't ignore the system and the power you acquire as an actor if you're in films that are successful.
The Tony Stark I grew up with wasn't as snappy and as quippy as Downey Jr. made him, but now I only think of his performance.
Once the writers got to know the actors, they would include certain things - personality-wise - for the characters because they knew you liked that sort of thing.
I remember watching Wesley Snipes as Blade. I watched Michael Jai White as Spawn. I even watch Shaquille O'Neal as Steel. I felt like seeing a physical representation, a non-cartoon representation, affected me in a much different way.
I've learned 90 percent of what I know from watching and listening to actors. A good leading actor is the rock of the show. Their energy and their tone really sets the groundwork for how everything is going to work. I've been lucky to deal with stars who are very giving and generous.
I grew up watching Kathy Bates, and 'Misery' is one of my favorite films.
In 1994, nobody could have predicted 'Shawshank' would one day be an iconic movie - and believe me, that would never have happened if Danny Glover had been Red instead of Morgan Freeman.
All I can say, personally, is I have never learned more from an actor that I've worked with than Jeffrey Tambor. And I consider him one of my favorite, most valued people in my life.
When I was a kid I really loved Humphrey Bogart. But when I was in theater school, Robert DeNiro was my go-to guy.
As a writer, I always think about who my prototype actors are, in my brain. It's helpful, as a writer, to think about that.
I felt that for 20 years, I was wooing the people of my country and asking them to like me as an actor, and when they liked me as an actor, I told them, 'Now, you like my politics.'
I got 'The Grey' made because Liam Neeson wanted to make that movie.
Yeah, what happened was Universal wanted one of the characters to be nice so they chose me so there was a scene where the girl was tied to the bed and I let her go.
I grew up watching Marlon Brando, Christopher Walken, Robert de Niro, and Al Pacino and even Robert Duvall and was impressed by their caliber of work.
I remember being very influenced by 'Taxi Driver', and also Tommy Lee Jones in 'Coal Miner's Daughter' a little bit.
The truth is, I'd never seen a Cary Grant film. Since then I have watched his stuff and it's astounding, but I don't see any similarity between us. Except for the fact that I'm told he used to wear ladies' underwear, which is something I also do.
When you're playing a supporting character, you don't really have a lot of control of the quality of the film.
I'm very fond of the British cinema. I'm a big fan of Martin Campbell and Daniel Craig. I actually find Daniel very inspirational, especially on the physical side of things. He really inspired me to get back into shape when I started to add on a few pounds. I think he's a great role model.
In 'Wall Street,' Charlie Sheen carried that movie.
John Wayne represents more force, more power than anyone else on the screen.
Male actors get into production, share profit, and they don't take money at times but are involved in some capacity which is economical and resourceful. These things suit them; as they have made a place for themselves, they have command over the box office.
In New York, a 13-year-old Indian girl came up to me crying, saying to everyone nearby, 'This is where I come from.' It's easy to forget that actors have the ability to instill a sense of self in viewers. That's the greatest compliment.
The only time I ever met a character that I wrote was when I met Ian McKellan, when he was playing Magneto in the 'X-Men' movies.
A lot of kind of like the way that Andy [Bernard] talks, you know, the writers pick up on those things - little moments that I inject and then they start to write it in later. It's hard to say if a whole storyline is spun out of an improv. I feel like it has happened on The Office, I just can't think of it.
When I'm writing, I'm writing for a particular actor. When a lot of writers are writing, they're writing an idea. So they're not really writing in a specific voice.
