“I told myself that I would not go back to the camps as an actor ever again, that I was very frightened of wearing a yellow star. It was fear, it was cowardice, I was.” ActorsStarsFrightenedCampsYellowCowardice Author:Ben Kingsley
“There are some directors, lesser in confidence or skill, who make the actor feel very uncomfortable because you feel you're auditioning for them, every day, and that's a terrible feeling on the set.” FeelsFeelingsActorsTerribleDirectorsSkillsUncomfortable Author:Ben Kingsley
“I think the actor has a tribal role as the archetypal story teller. I think there was a time when the storyteller, the priest, the healer, were all one person in one body. That person used to weave stories at night around a small fire to keep the tribe from being terrified that sun had gone down.” ThinkingPersonsStoriesBodyUsedNightActorsActingHealingRolesSunGoneFireStorytellingPriestsTerrifiedTribesStorytellerHealerPriesthoodArchetypeWeaving Author:Ben Kingsley
“Shakespeare villains were extraordinary. Macbeth, Iago, Richard III... They're so richly layered that a British actor would find it almost impossible to create a two-dimensional villain, if he's explored in his early years or continues to explore his Shakespearean heritage. You can almost not judge them, if they're played really well.” IfsYearsWellsTwoActorsImpossibleJudgingExtraordinaryBritishHeritageVillain Author:Ben Kingsley
“If it's a really well written villain, he probably has more layers than the archetypal good person. So that would be very attractive to an actor. No one chooses to be a villain; it's usually a reaction to something else.” IfsWellsPersonsWould BeActorsWrittenReactionsAttractiveVillainLayersGood PersonWell Written Author:Ben Kingsley
“The environment forces you to be utterly dependent between "action" and "cut" because the environment is perfect on your fellow actor. So as an acting exercise, it's absolutely thrilling that the focus that we had to bring to each other echoed in life, echoed in art. And when you get that parallel, it's really thrilling and it's full of surprises, but it all has a logic.” ArtActionActorsForcePerfectActingEnvironmentFocusCuttingExerciseLogicFellowsSurpriseDependentParallelsThrilling Author:Ben Kingsley
“I don't want to be like the actor who rehearses everything in the bathroom, then comes to the set and carries on completely uninterrupted while the other actors tiptoe away.” WantActorsCarrieBathroomTiptoes Author:Ben Kingsley
“I'm so dependent on reacting to the other actors on the set, and to the director. I'm very responsive. I react. And I treasure the energy that reaction gives.” GivingActorsEnergyDirectorsTreasureReactionsDependentReacting Author:Ben Kingsley
“As an actor there's no autonomy, unless you're prepared to risk the possibility of starving.” ActorsRiskPossibilityPreparedAutonomyStarving Author:Ben Kingsley
“Fifteen years before I became a screen actor, I was in the theatre. A lot of my work was comedy, which I loved doing. It's harder.” YearsActorsComedyHarderTheatreScreensFifteenFifteen Years Author:Ben Kingsley
“I think that most actors, and they're a very strange lot actors, very strange people, but I think that they attempt to keep in touch with the child.” PeopleThinkingChildrenActorsStrange Author:Ben Kingsley
“I was fortunate as a young actor, to go straight to the RSC, where I learned that being an actor can bring with it wonderful responsibilities.” YoungActorsResponsibilityWonderfulFortunateYoung Actors Author:Ben Kingsley
“I think that most actors attempt to keep in touch with the child.” ThinkingChildrenActorsActing Author:Ben Kingsley
“They're a very strange lot actors, very strange people.” PeopleActorsActingStrange Author:Ben Kingsley
“You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story. You are the shaman/healer, that's what the storyteller is, and I think it's important for actors to appreciate that. Too often actors think it's all about them, when in reality it's all about the audience being able to recognize themselves in you. The more you pull away from the public, the less power you have on screen.” ThinkingImportantStoriesRealityWould BeAbleActorsActingAudienceAppreciateShamePrivilegeTheatreScreensTribesStorytellerHealer Author:Ben Kingsley
“It is better for me to serve a charity as an actor or a voice, rather than at a luncheon being just a celebrity.” ActorsVoiceCharity Author:Ben Kingsley
“We are adjusters. We empathize, we change rhythm and above all we listen to our fellow actors-if they're good actors.” IfsActorsChangeFellowsRhythmGood Actors Author:Ben Kingsley
