“For me, acting was a way of releasing all of this stuff that I had inside - and a way for me to tell the stories of the people I knew, so that their spirit could live through me.” PeopleWayStoriesSpiritStuffActing Author:Ving Rhames
“Once I came to acting, it was almost a thing where there weren't enough hours in the day to work on stuff because I was so passionate about it.” EnoughStuffHoursActingPassionateHours In The Day Author:Aaron Tveit
“From an acting perspective, I would say that you should always try to make your own stuff. Always be ambitious about your own projects and always know better than anyone else what you're good at.” KnowsShouldTryingStuffActingPerspectiveProjectsAmbitious Author:Michael Urie
“The interesting thing about acting is using all your own stuff and having some kind of personal catharsis while you're working.” KindStuffInterestingActingInteresting ThingsCatharsis Author:Melanie Lynskey
“I'd done some acting stuff when I was younger, around age nine.” DoneAgeStuffActingNine Author:Samuel Larsen
“I never consciously got into comedy. It was sort of one of those things where I was a theater student, I was acting, I was doing comedy, I was doing dramatic stuff, so it's been something that I've always done and enjoyed doing and had an instinct to be relatively good at.” DoneStuffActingComedyStudentsTheaterInstinctEnjoyedDramatic Author:Aasif Mandvi
“Today enormous effort goes into convincing the American public that we're just consumers of media manipulation and sound-bites and spin doctors. That we care only about ourselves, money, and stuff. That acting out of passion and conviction doesn't make a difference. But all history shows that it does.” DoeShowsCareTodayPassionStuffSoundDifferencesEffortActingMediaDoctorsConvictionEnormousConsumersMaking A DifferenceManipulationBitesConvincingMedia ManipulationActing OutSound BitesSpin Doctors Author:Bernardine Dohrn
“I like both music and acting, and they both have a lot in common - timing, immediacy, stuff like that. But acting is more regimented. You wait around for hours, you don't get to write the script, you get hired. Music represents me better. I'm not acting; I'm just expressing myself.” WritingStuffWaitingHoursCommonActingScriptsTimingImmediacy Author:Lukas Haas
“I don't want to do only movies that I'm in. I definitely want to start to branch out and do TV and stuff that I'm not in and really make a good run at it as a production. I'm probably going to take a break from acting after a little while because I've enjoyed the developmental process so much. It helps you as an actor to learn story and to learn how to really nurture a script and work with a writer so you're not sitting there having to write it yourself and give notes.” WantGivingWritingLittlesHelpingStoriesRunningActorsStuffProcessActingBreakTvsSittingNotesScriptsProductionsEnjoyedBranchesNurtureDevelopmental Author:Channing Tatum
“I like going in to different styles of acting and exploring stuff I haven't done before.” DifferentDoneStuffActingStyleHavensExploringDifferent Styles Author:Mel Gibson
“I love improv-ing, you know, from very early on when I started acting the school that I went to and everything was very big on ad-libbing and improv-ing and messing things up, so I feel very comfortable doing stuff like that.” KnowsFeelsBigsSchoolStuffActingComfortableAds Author:Jennifer Lopez
“I always revered people that I thought had an idea and proceeded through with it. I guess I've been that way since the day I called my father and told him I was going to study acting and maybe try to see if I could do well with that, and he told me: "Don't do that. You don't want to do that, that's just dream stuff. Get a legitimate job and move forward."” PeopleIfsWayWantTryingWellsIdeasDreamJobsMovingFatherStuffActingStudyMoving ForwardIf I Could Author:Clint Eastwood
“I think because I have quite a normal family and I'm bored with how normal my family is. I want to mess stuff up a bit. I chose the messed up characters because I find that that's acting. I want to explore emotions that you otherwise wouldn't be able to explore.” WantCharacterAbleStuffBitsActingEmotionNormalMy FamilyMessBoredMessed UpNormal Family Author:Chloe Grace Moretz
“I think you've got to have a depth, a deeper depth to take stand-up into acting, but I think it really helps you as a stand-up to home into different characters and stuff easily.” ThinkingDifferentCharacterHelpingHomeStuffActingDepthDeeperDifferent Characters Author:Chris Tucker
“Different scenes call for different acting styles. The kinds of scenes I like most are the ones where you just bury yourself in there. So I wouldn't say that's the only way to be funny, but that's my favorite way to play stuff, to try to put myself in a situation where that kind of acting is necessary.” WayTryingKindDifferentPlayStuffActingSituationStyleSceneMy Favorite Author:Will Forte
“It's always fun messing around with costumes and stuff. You know there is an element of acting that you've got to dress-up; that's part of it.” KnowsFunStuffActingElementsDressesCostumes Author:Gina Bellman
“I reenact everything. I love to paint a picture for my audience. I'm a lot like Richard Pryor in that aspect. I do a lot of acting on stage, acting out and visualizing stuff. I love to do that. I'm into it so much, it just comes out of me.” StuffActingAudienceStageAspectPaintVisualizingActing OutStage Acting Author:Chris Tucker
“I started acting when I was about nine. I always wanted to get into acting since I was really little but my parents would never let me because they'd heard all the bad stuff about being in the business as a young actor and stuff like that.” LittlesWantedYoungActorsStuffParentActingHeardLet MeNineYoung ActorsBad Stuff Author:Josh Hutcherson
“For me, teaching helps to reaffirm the right principles and values of acting. It helps me focus on the good stuff that can be easy to lose sight of because the business is so result-oriented.” HelpingValuesEasyStuffLosesResultsActingPrinciplesFocusTeachingSightHelp MePrinciples And Values Author:Mark Pellegrino
“I like to do stuff for my brothers and sisters to appreciate because they look up to me, and for other kids around the world who want to get into acting or who just want to have somebody to look up to.” WorldWantLooksKidsStuffActingBrotherAppreciateAround The WorldMy BrotherLook UpBrothers And Sisters Author:Kyla Pratt
“I do my independent stuff where it's real acting if you like. Intense, drama stuff. I love me actions.” IfsRealActionStuffActingDramaIndependentIntense Author:Vinnie Jones
“I've been doing magic since I was five years old, and when I was trying to get acting gigs, I found I could make a good living at it. It's great to kind of shake the cobwebs off and get the feeling of a live audience again. I love close-up magic, the card stuff, the coin stuff, the really up-close David Blaine stuff.” TryingYearsKindFeelingsFoundStuffActingAudienceFiveMagicCardsFive YearsShakesCoinsGigsFive Year OldsGood LivingCobwebs Author:Steve Valentine
“I never really got on my own case about my own acting. I know a lot of other people have, and probably very justifiably. But I don't worry about stuff like that too much.” PeopleKnowsStuffMy OwnActingCasesWorryToo Much Author:Troy Donahue
“Harold Ramis really got my career going and was a friend for a long time. I was doing a play in L.A., and he came to see it a few times and recommended me to Ivan Reitman for Ghostbusters 2. Six months later, I quit real estate and was acting for good, and it was really because Harold took an interest in me and made a phone call and did stuff that people don't usually do, even if they like somebody.” PeopleIfsLongMadeRealPlayStuffInterestActingCareersMonthsSixLong TimePhonesQuittingEstatesSix MonthsPhone CallsI Quit Author:Kurt Fuller
“Probably the most fun I've ever had, actually, acting. Because it was the perfect extension of the stuff that I'd started to do on Late Night With David Letterman, and when I look back on all my work, it was probably the best possible incarnation of Chris Elliott, of me.” LooksNightFunStuffPerfectActingLateWorking ItExtensionsIncarnationLate NightLetterman Author:Chris Elliott
“I actually quite like working with kids and I like working with animals, which everybody says you shouldn't do. It makes you feel like you're not acting, as soon as you have someone who's providing stuff to react to.” FeelsKidsStuffAnimalActingLike YouProvidingWorking With Animals Author:Robert Pattinson
“Making a judgment, taking a stand and then acting against an injustice or acting to support excellence is the stuff of the everyman hero. If you are an aspiring artist and you wish to avoid “judgments,” you'll find that you have nothing to say.” IfsArtistWishStuffActingSupportHeroJudgmentExcellenceInjusticeEveryman Author:Steven Pressfield
“We need to start acting like a team, focus on winning and not worry about all of the other stuff that goes on. We lost our focus last year. We worried about who was being hired, who was being fired. That's got to change. We don't need any more finger pointing. We need to act like a team.” NeedsYearsLastsWinningLostStuffActingWorryFocusTeamGoes OnFingersWorriedLast YearPointingPointing Fingers Author:Albert Belle
“You learn a lot about acting and being physical and being on stage, but there is technical stuff on camera that you can't learn until you do it.” StuffActingStageCameras Author:Finn Wittrock
“I think [music and acting], they are connected, all that stuff. It's your emotional self, is pretty much how you do it, I think, from whatever place you do it, whether you're acting or you're singing.” ThinkingSelfStuffActingEmotionalSingingConnected Author:Dolly Parton
“Part of the acting gig is when you're let loose some improvs and put stuff into your own words every once in a while. That doesn't get you a writing credit or more money. It just makes it more fun.” WritingFunStuffActingCreditMore MoneyGigs Author:Jack Black
“Any good director creates a playground. That's what they do. They hire the right actor, open the door and let them play because stuff will happen, right then and there. The audience wants to believe that what's going on is happening for the first time, ever. That's what acting is. That's what good scene writing is.” WantWritingFirstsBelievePlayHappensActorsStuffActingAudienceDoorsSceneDirectorsHappeningsFirst TimePlaygroundsGood Directors Author:Martin Landau
“I love comedy. I suppose comedy is my first love, in a way. I did a lot of acting, funnily enough, unprofessionally, as a kid. From when I was 10 years old until I was about 19, I was always doing little sketches with my friends, and doing different accents and voices. Probably about 3/4 of those were comedic, in some way, and the other 1/4 was more serious stuff or more action or more dramatic little pieces that I would make. But, I tend to lean towards comedy.” WayYearsFirstsLittlesDifferentEnoughKidsActionStuffVoiceActingComedyPiecesSeriousMy FriendsDramaticAccentsFirst LoveComedic Author:Sharlto Copley
“I don't think I'm a great actress. I think I can act or I can react. Coming from a musical background and being a dramatic singer and writer, when I write stuff I really feel it. So I sing it like it comes from here. That's how I do the acting.” ThinkingFeelsWritingI CanStuffActingMusicalActressesSingersBackgroundsDramatic Author:Dolly Parton
“I don't know what acting is, but I enjoy it. I think we ask too many questions of ourselves. We make too much importance of stuff. But I do say to actors when I have taught in classes, or when I sometimes do a talk to a group. I'll say, “If I never acted again, the world wouldn't stop, nor would it stop if I didn't stop acting. That's how important it is. I know it [seems] important when you're young. But I say, “Lighten up. Don't take it all so seriously.” All the gurus and teachers will take your money and run.” IfsThinkingKnowsWorldImportantSometimesSeemsRunningYoungActorsAsksStuffEnjoyActingClassToo MuchTeacherGroupsTaughtImportanceGuru Author:Anthony Hopkins
“I've always liked to be a meat and potatoes kind of actor who doesn't believe in any of the highfalutin stuff about acting, so I tend to be a little bit more cynical.” BelieveKindLittlesActorsStuffBitsActingLittle BitMeatCynicalPotatoesMeat And Potatoes Author:Anthony Hopkins
“All rappers predominantly sound the same and want you to think their meanest person in the world, and that they're all gangster and all that. My acting allowed me to be playful and crazy, and it helps me tell stories and all that. I think it's a good time; rap needs that kind of stuff.” ThinkingWorldWantNeedsKindPersonsHelpingStoriesStuffSoundActingCrazyRapHelp MeGood TimesRapperGangsters Author:Nicki Minaj
“I love going to work, doing acting. I love when I'm done with a movie or a TV show. I love hitting the road or being in the studio or going on tour. That's what I get off on. I don't need to have my business in the press and all that stuff. I'm pretty low key. It's all about the work for me.” NeedsDoneShowsStuffActingTvsKeysLowsPressesStudiosHittingTv ShowsGoing To WorkLow Key Author:Bryan Greenberg
“In any of the big acting cities, there are breakdowns that the casting directors put together for the projects that they're working on and then they get sent out to the agents and stuff like that. It's difficult to find projects, sometimes, unless your agent or manager is submitting you for those specific projects.” SometimesBigsTogetherStuffDifficultActingCitiesDirectorsProjectsAgentsManagersCastingBreakdownCasting Directors Author:Bostin Christopher
“When I first started [taking acting classes] I sort of stuck my toes in but I was so nervous I didn't know if I could go all the way. I was so scared about it for some reason. The more confident I got with it, the more I just fell in love with it. I love going to work every day and trying to make the most of the stuff I've been given.” IfsKnowsWayTryingFirstsReasonGivenStuffActingClassScaredStuckNervousIf I CouldToesGoing To WorkActing Classes Author:Josh Duhamel
“I think it's almost better to start [acting] at a later age because you have more stuff to drawm from - more life experience. When you start too young, you grow up on a set.” ThinkingAgeYoungGrowsStuffActingGrowing UpLife Experience Author:Josh Duhamel
“Actors can be very precious about their work and their scenes, but I think good actors have a strong understanding of narrative and are very often not as precious about that stuff. They just can't be because they understand what makes for a better film, and that it's the job of the actor to work toward that, and then if you want you can go to acting class or workshops. But making movies is not workshops.” IfsThinkingWantJobsFilmActorsStrongStuffUnderstandingActingClassSceneNarrativeWorkshopsGood ActorsActing Classes Author:Kristen Stewart
“Having emotional connections to things that don't really exist, like looking at a green ball and really loving that green ball, and being sad whether it's around or not. Stuff like that. I've never done acting at this level before so it was a huge challenge for me. It was a hurdle to overcome just to survive.” DoneStuffChallengesLevelsActingEmotionalHugeConnectionsOvercomingBallsGreenHurdleBeing SadEmotional Connection Author:Shia LaBeouf
“You really want to have a back-up plan, so when you don't feel like acting, or you're getting older and settling down, you can produce your own stuff. So that's when I set about forming my own company and getting creative control.” WantFeelsStuffMy OwnActingCompanyCreativePlansProduceSettlingGetting OldGetting OlderSettling Down Author:Denis Leary
“I'm going to continue to try to strike a balance, because I really, really do love doing stand-up, and I don't see why it should affect the acting. And again, I'm not going, "I've got to become a dramatic actor now." I just want more interesting jobs. I just want to keep doing stuff that's different.” WantShouldTryingDifferentJobsActorsStuffInterestingActingBalanceStrikesDramatic Author:Patton Oswalt
“I think I'm good with actors. I like directing actors. I also like to show up and just do an acting gig. Where I'm just a hired gun, I don't have to have an opinion on anything.I never got involved in all this stuff because I wanted to control stuff; I got involved in writing and producing because I wasn't getting interesting acting gigs. In a way I'm grateful that I didn't get interesting roles, because it made me pull my finger out and do some work.” ThinkingWayWritingMadeShowsWantedActorsStuffInterestingActingOpinionRolesInvolvedGunGratefulFingersGigsDirecting Actors Author:Steve Coogan
“I'm in a real minority as far as having really supportive parents in regards to the arts. They never batted an eye as far as not letting me do that stuff. That's invaluable. I can't believe how unabashedly supportive they were about everything, between music and acting.” BelieveArtI CanRealEyeStuffParentActingRegardMinoritiesSupportiveInvaluableSupportive Parents Author:Darren Criss
“Since I began booking some stuff with no formal acting training I told myself, that I needed to really study to stay in the game for the longevity and I did just that.” GamesStuffActingStudyNeededTrainingLongevityFormal Author:Jaime Zevallos
“As a kid I was always writing and directing plays in my basement with my neighborhood cronies. But please don't get me wrong, I have zero regrets when it comes to the acting stuff. I think it's made me a better director.” ThinkingWritingMadePlayKidsStuffActingRegretPleaseDirectorsNeighborhoodZeroBasementsCronies Author:Coley Sohn