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Stephen Daldry

Stephen Daldry Quotes

Director

Stephen Daldry is a British director renowned for his exceptional contributions to the fields of theater and film. Born on May 2, 1960, he has gained international recognition since the 1990s. Daldry is known for his profound insight into complex themes and his masterful guidance of actors.

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Famous Stephen Daldry Quotes

“As soon as I know how to do something, I usually get bored with it.”

Knows Know How Bored

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I always say, 'I really need to take a break.' It's three days in and I'm getting pretty bored.”

Needs Three Break Bored

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I am, in fact, Superman. Every morning I wake up and go into a telephone booth and change my costume, and then go to work.”

Facts Morning Wake Up Every Morning Costumes Telephones Phone Booth

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I categorically resist this idea that films are supposed to be autobiographical and the only stories you tell are about your own life.”

Ideas Stories Film Supposed To Be

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I have never been motivated by money in my life. You can't make choices based on what the financial return might be.”

Might Choices Return Financial Motivated

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I would love to do something for TV... I wanna do 'Kavalier & Clay' on HBO as an eight-parter. It'll be so much better as a series, honestly.”

Tvs Series Eight Honestly Clay Hbo

Author:Stephen Daldry

“One of the great joys of my job is that you spend a huge amount of time investigating different areas of literature.”

Different Jobs Joy Literature Huge Amount Areas Great Joy Investigating

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Ring up your parents and ring up your kids and tell them that you love them.”

Kids Parent Rings

Author:Stephen Daldry

“There has been one defining production for me in each decade.”

Has Beens Productions Decades Defining

Author:Stephen Daldry

“They're a redefinition of boredom... the most important thing you need to know about an awards show is where is the nearest smoking opportunity.”

Knows Needs Important Shows Opportunity Important Things Boredom Smoking Awards Award Shows

Author:Stephen Daldry

“When I got married, my mother was very surprised. She said: What on earth is going on? I thought you were gay?”

Said Earth Mother Gay Married

Author:Stephen Daldry

“You go through a process of refinement and getting rid of the excesses of your early youth in terms of your excitement about what theatre can do.”

Process Term Can Do Youth Theatre Excitement Excess Refinement

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Actually, to be honest, this is a useful time to not be knowing what I'll be doing in 2013 or 2014, because really, for the last however many years, I've known what I've been doing for years and years ahead. You get into a cycle of non-reflection, and that gets a bit scary.”

Years Lasts Bits Known Knowing Honest Reflection Scary Being Honest Cycles

Author:Stephen Daldry

“At school, I decided I wanted to be a director and then I went out and spent the rest of my adult life trying to be a director. It was really clear to me. So in that sense I was very lucky.”

Trying Wanted School Clear Lucky Directors Adults Decided

Author:Stephen Daldry

“England is strictly class-based. What's surprising is how many films are still made with a load of people in silly frocks running around gardens and talking in middle-class accents.”

People Made Stills Running Film Talking Class Middle Garden England Silly Middle Class Surprising Load Accents

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Every now and then I have to teach directing. The thing about the theatre is that the most important thing you can do as a director is to make sure that everybody is in the same world - you have to create the world and make sure everyone buys into it.”

World Important Can Do Teach Directors Important Things Theatre Now And Then

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I love changing. I hate it when people try to box me in to a relationship or in a work context. Any situation where I feel boxed in freaks me out. And I feel the need to reinvent myself or I'll get bored.”

People Needs Feels Trying Hate Situation I Hate Boxes Bored Freak

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I love test screenings. Some directors don't, I know. But I love it. I think it's because I come from the theatre and in the theatre, previews are where you really have to listen to the audience and really feel how they're responding. I found our test screenings incredibly useful.”

Thinking Knows Feels Found Audience Directors Tests Theatre Responding Screening Preview Theatre Directors

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I never want to make a film. I don't wake up in the morning going, 'Ooh, I'd really love to be on set making a film today'. I'm aware that other contemporary film directors perceive film-making as what they do, as what they have to do. But I would hope that I am more catholic in my tastes.”

Want Today Film Morning Taste Directors Wake Up Catholic Contemporary Perceive Film Directors

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I spent a little time in Germany as a schoolboy learning German, and it's a country I knew very well, spent a lot of time in. I knew the history very well. I've always wanted to do a piece of work about the post-war period, of one sort or another.”

Wells Littles War Country Wanted Pieces Periods Posts Germany Little Time Post War

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I think it's absolutely fascinating that in Berlin the parliament can discuss actively the role of their soldiers in Afghanistan because is it still possible, literally, for a German soldier to take up arms.”

Thinking Stills Roles Arms Soldier Fascinating Afghanistan Parliament Berlin German Soldiers

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I'm a theatre person, that's who I am. I'm happy to make sojourns into the world of movies but I'm basically a theatre director that potters off and does a couple of movies.”

World Persons Doe Couple Directors Theatre Who I Am Potters Theatre Directors

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I'm not really a director for hire. You read these scripts and go, 'This is a really great script, but Paul Greengrass would make this so much better than me.' I usually say, 'I know who would be good for this. It's not me.”

Knows Would Be Directors Scripts Be Good Really Great

Author:Stephen Daldry

“I've never been to Hollywood. I can count the number of times I've been to Los Angeles on my hands. I've never made a movie there and I've never been there for working reasons. The only reason to go there is for silly awards shows.”

Made I Can Reason Shows Hands Numbers Hollywood Silly Los Angeles Awards Award Shows

Author:Stephen Daldry

“If I wanted to work financially, I would have made a series of different choices. I do get offered lots of movies which you could make a lot of money out of. And I always say, 'Why would I do that, when someone else could do it much better than me? Why would I want to do an action picture? Why?”

Ifs Want Made Different Action Wanted Choices Series Lots Of Money Different Choices

Author:Stephen Daldry

“In issues of recent ethnic wars and genocides - particularly if you look at Darfur - one of the most remarkable things is our inability to act, still, despite the years of analyzing and re-analyzing what it does to subsequent generations. We still find a massive inability to step in and step up to the plate, when genocide is happening as we speak.”

Ifs Years Looks Doe Stills War Speak Steps Issues Generations Happenings Despite Remarkable Massive Genocide Plates Inability Step Up Analyzing Darfur

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Is it appropriate still for a German to have a gun? I only use that as an example of a country that's still deeply involved and engaged in the conversations about how to come to terms with the past. Certainly for that country, it's not forgotten.”

Stills Country Use Past Term Example Involved Conversation Gun Forgotten Engaged Appropriate

Author:Stephen Daldry

“It's disingenuous to say that criticism doesn't get to you or you don't hear it or that you ignore it. When everybody says, 'That's crap. I hated that,' you hear it. But it's much, much worse when they're right: when you feel that it is an absolute piece of tosh. I made the film I wanted to make, so you just have to find a way of getting over it.”

Way Feels Made Wanted Film Pieces Criticism Absolutes Hated Over It Crap Disingenuous Getting Over It

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Most theater methodology is predicated on the idea of repeated actions. That's what you work toward. Having the actor repeat the same moment eight times a week. In a film, it's getting that one moment right.”

Ideas Moments Action Film Actors Week Theater Eight Repeats Methodology

Author:Stephen Daldry

“The great fun of doing new plays is that people have no idea what's going to happen next. That goes quite soon, as people start talking about it, and the only way you can keep hold of that is genuinely to keep changing it.”

People Way Ideas Play Happens Next Fun Talking No Idea

Author:Stephen Daldry

“The really successful work in England tends to be working-class writers telling working-class stories. The film industry has been slow to wake up to that, for a variety of reasons. It still shocks me how few films are written or made in England about working-class life, given that those are the people who go to movies.”

People Has Beens Made Stills Reason Stories Film Given Class Successful Written Industry England Wake Up Variety Shock Working Class Film Industry Successful Work

Author:Stephen Daldry

“The truth of the matter is, every film is imperfect. It's the nature of the beast. One of the things that people ask me all the time is, what's the difference between theater and film, and one of the biggest differences is, in the theater you always get another go.”

People Matter Film Asks Differences Theater Ask Me Beast Imperfect

Author:Stephen Daldry

“There are a few writers that one has a relationship with that means, basically, you do whatever they say. One is Caryl Churchill, and the other is David Hare.”

Author:Stephen Daldry

“Well, there are three different processes of making a film, of course. They're sort of re-written three times. You write it to start with, and then you shoot it and you re-write it while shooting and you sort of re-write it as you edit.”

Writing Wells Different Film Three Courses Process Written Shooting Three Times Edits

Author:Stephen Daldry

“With journalism, films always have to be to do with some personal statement of your own. As a general rule, I resist that. In the States, a question that kept coming up was this: how can you, as a man, talk about three women?”

Men States Film Three Statements Journalism Personal Statement

Author:Stephen Daldry

“You [as an actor] have a responsibility to Jonathan's book and you have a responsibility to talk about a subject that is going to be, whether it's contentious or not, it's going t bring up a huge, emotional response from people. A lot of people will say they are ready or they're not ready.”

People Book Actors Responsibility Subjects Emotional Ready Huge Response Not Ready Emotional Response Contentious

Author:Stephen Daldry

“You have to trust your own instincts about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate and trust your own feelings about what you can and can't show for yourself, and it'll be different for everybody.”

Different Shows Feelings Instinct Appropriate

Author:Stephen Daldry

“The culturally specific, in particular, the American porch play that American writers have cherished and loved for many years in terms of their new writing, has seemed to have very little relevance to a much more fast-flowing, abstract, experimental drama that has been emerging in [the UK]. The porch play, not to mention that thing of, Oops, I wasn't loved enough by my father, somehow didn't have the relevance in this country.”

Writing Years Littles Has Beens Country Enough Play Father Term Particular Drama Crafts Abstract Relevance Emerging Porch American Writer

Author:Stephen Daldry

About the Author

Born: May 2, 1960
Known for: Director
Quotes: 38

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