Performance Intensity Quotes

I think people like to exaggerate about the number of takes you do.

Chris Guest has his own form. It's a way of working that is really intense, and you can commit a lot, and you focus a lot. You get to bring a lot. You get to bring things maybe you haven't seen before. You're asked to care a great deal for these people who you're playing and create heart and empathy.

The film I did with Bobby De Niro, 'The King of Comedy' - an awful lot came to me out of that movie because De Niro never allowed me any room to be crazy. If I had tried to play it the way I would normally play it and get hysterical, Bobby would punch me.

James Franco is a Method actor. I respect Method actors, but he never snapped out of character. Whenever we'd have to get in the ring for boxing scenes, and even during practice, the dude was full-on hitting me.

I am always physically and emotionally invested in the characters I play.

I would say that a lot of the characters I've been attracted to are very vulnerable and they expose themselves emotionally. Not so much in 'The Fighter,' not so much in 'The Master' - I think those are different.

We're always driven by our mindset and feeling on a particular show day, so you'll never know what you'll get until you see it happen in the ring.

[True Detective] is an intense show, even in terms of the dialogue - there's a little rhythm to it, in particular in his monologues. I think on those days, he [Woody Harrelson] really had to stay in the zone. Because there's a certain cadence in which that character speaks and talks about life, you know? But then there are other days that he was able to be a little more loose.

Once you begin shooting, Bollywood actors get totally involved in their roles, and that gives you an edge in getting what you want out of them.

From Toscanini I learnt the essential and desperate seriousness of making music.

When I do my solo concerts, I'm used to being on the stage for two hours solid, singing 16 songs. And when I did 'Funny Thing,' I was on the stage the whole time. This is much more difficult. It's the difference between racing and sprinting. This is sprinting. And I have to learn to pace myself.

There's a method aspect to Campbell Scott character and he really wants to get into his character and he wants to cast to go on a fast so that by the time the play opens nobody's eaten in three days because he wants the audience to feel the pain from the stage.

I think that is funny to say because I've always loved her work and her strength and vulnerability, and the intensity of Evan's [Rachel Wood] performances. And to know her as a friend, know her as someone who we just have fun, whatever, and then see how present she is when she's working and how powerful she is. It was really awesome to get to sort of go into this different dimension with each other.

An actor matures with experiences, and the more the emotions he/she has been through, the greater the intensity of performances.

They were keen for me still to play the piano, which I was going to, but 45 minutes of piano would be extremely boring. I like a bit of light and shade.

For me, performance is a holy ground. When I perform, I really step into a different state of consciousness.

I'm the performer of the group. My thing is like, every time I come on stage, I always bring it 120 percent, 150 percent.

It's hard being a Broadway actor going into film where you have to tone everything down. In theater, everything you're taught is to be big and broad and make everyone feel like they are right next to you, even in the last row of seats.

You either swing a band or don't swing a band and that's what's lacking today.. There aren't any guys who get back there and play with any kind of guts.

'Medea' is an enormous challenge for an actor physically, mentally, emotionally. You have to dig very, very deep, and to work, your performance has to be very personal.

For the 'Riddick' character, I try to get as ruthless as possible, and I want to be a machine.

In modern life, we hide behind ourselves. In Shakespeare, there's nowhere left to hide. It's life, larger than life, and every actor has to raise their game to get there.

Instinct taught me 20 years ago to pace a song or a concert performance. That translates into pacing a story, pleasing a reading audience.

Sometimes when you belt, it kinda makes the song more dramatic than it really needs to be. There are certain songs that you hear, and you're like, 'Wow, he's singing about his girlfriend, but he sounds kinda mad the way he's yelling, 'You're so pretty!''