“I like good stories. Quality products and character are what's important. Even if the script isn't that strong, if I challenge myself with a great character, I'll go for it.” IfsImportantCharacterStoriesStrongChallengesQualityProductsScriptsGood StoryWhat's ImportantGreat Character Author:Corin Nemec
“If you get a book which is 600 pages, you have to reduce it to a script of 100 pages. In two hours of film, you cannot possibly include all the characters.” IfsTwoBookCharacterFilmHoursPagesScripts Author:Dino De Laurentiis
“I need to react to a script, to feel strongly about it in some way. And I need it to be a complex character for sure. And also, I think a lot about what kind of audience there is for the film, what they're looking for and ways to connect with them in the playing of a character.” ThinkingWayNeedsFeelsKindCharacterFilmAudienceComplexesScriptsComplex Characters Author:Jeremy Renner
“Sometimes the characters I find the most compelling are in independent movies. With independent scripts people can take more challenges.” PeopleSometimesCharacterChallengesIndependentScriptsCompelling Author:Brittany Snow
“First, you do a piece of material that begins and ends and has a flow; it's not chopped up as in a film, where in an extreme case you might be doing the last scene of the script the first day that you go to work, and you don't know enough about the character you're playing.” KnowsFirstsEndsEnoughCharacterMightLastsFilmCasesPiecesMaterialsSceneFlowScriptsExtremes Author:Jean Stapleton
“I'd always wanted to be an action heroine. That's a chick dream, getting to wear a leather bodysuit and be blonde and kick ass. But, what really attracted me to 'Dredd' was the script. It was fantastic! It was about people and characters, and not just about explosions and fighting.” PeopleCharacterDreamActionWantedFightingScriptsAssFantasticKicksExplosionsChicksLeatherBlondeHeroinesKick Ass Author:Olivia Thirlby
“It's just I hate reading the description 'offbeat' about a character in a script, because I, along with Seth Green, Jamie Kennedy and a few others, have cornered the market on 'offbeat.'” CharacterHateReadingI HateGreenScriptsDescriptionJamieCorneredOffbeat Author:Breckin Meyer
“Most of the time when I receive a script, it says something like 'Rosenberg is the fat, slovenly Mayor, who doesn't want the kids to use the Skateboard Park,' or 'Stein is a pompous, rotund attorney, imposing to all.' It would be so freeing to get a script where my character is simply described as 'A Man.'” MenWantCharacterUseWould BeKidsScriptsFatsParksAttorneyMayorsImposingPompous Author:Fred Melamed
“All actors bring something unexpected to the role because they have to translate what's on the page and make a real character out of the black-and-white text that's there in the script.” RealCharacterActorsBlackWhiteRolesPagesScriptsUnexpectedBlack And WhiteTranslateReal CharacterSomething Unexpected Author:Joe Johnston
“When I read a script and have my first interaction with this character, do I feel like there's something I'm gonna' learn here? If I feel like it's something I've done before, then what's the incentive for me to do it?” IfsFeelsFirstsDoneCharacterScriptsInteractionIncentives Author:Bill Skarsgard
“Costume is always an asset. Normal costume you have a lot to say about - if you're wearing suits or ties, and what color you want, and how it's going to be cut, and stuff like that, and whether or not you're going to wear a hat, and blah, blah, blah. But, when you're wearing a special costume, and of course, costume is probably the second ingredient in character, script being first, I always find that the costume does a lot to cement your character, to put it firmly in mind.” IfsWantMindFirstsDoeCharacterCoursesStuffCuttingSpecialColorNormalScriptsSuitsTiesHatsIngredientsAssetsCostumesCementBlahWearing A Suit Author:Morgan Freeman
“It makes it easier, if you can't do an American accent. I don't know. It's different. I played a character in Never Let Me Go where the script for my character was very sparse, and I enjoyed it. With Never Let Me Go, I had a whole book written from my character's point of view, so I always knew where I was. But, with Ryan [Gosling], it was just easy. He's such a brilliant actor and he is so prepared. He doesn't have to warm himself up to be in a scene. He's just in it. It draws you in, in a way.” IfsKnowsWayBookDifferentWholeCharacterActorsEasyViewsWrittenEasierSceneDrawsLet MePreparedScriptsWarmPoint Of ViewBrilliantEnjoyedAccentsLet Me GoNever Let Me Go Author:Carey Mulligan
“I try to have a balance of things you like and things you don't like about a character. But once you start that, all these scripts are like, "You play the douchebag friend of Ashton Kutcher." It's all these characters that are overconfident or hyper-masculine.” TryingPlayCharacterLike YouBalanceScriptsMasculineHyperOverconfidentThings You LikeDouchebags Author:Jemaine Clement
“When I got the script to this movie, The Good Girl, I read it in an hour. The writer, Mike White, has an ability to create characters that are so creepy and dysfunctional and human, with this duality that makes people feel empathy for them at the same time. My first thought was 'Was this sent to the right person?' I called my agent. 'Are they sure? Let's say yes before they realize they've sent it to the wrong person!'” PeopleFeelsFirstsHumansPersonsBookCharacterGirlReadingActorsRealizingHoursAbilityWhiteEmpathyScriptsAgentsMovieMikeDualityCreepyRight PersonBooks And ReadingGood GirlWrong Person Author:Jennifer Aniston
“You're responsible for your own character to a degree, because when it comes to the final draft of the script, you might say, "Well, I think maybe I could add this here, add that there." But I find that I write just as well for the other characters as I do for myself. I think.” ThinkingWritingWellsCharacterMightDegreesResponsibleAddFinalsScripts Author:Charlie Day
“I know it's boring to say this but I always start with the script. I mean if it's well written and it's a character that I haven't necessarily played before.” IfsKnowsWellsMeanCharacterWrittenHavensScriptsBoringWell Written Author:Billy Bob Thornton
“For me, when my agents and reps send me a script, I read it through, just for the story purpose of it, and then I read it again to think of my character and see if it's something that I'm interested in bringing to life.” IfsThinkingCharacterStoriesPurposeScriptsAgents Author:Dania Ramirez
“We can have the final word on hate, neglect, disease and all the other insidious characters that still script their way into our stories...for now, but not forever.” WayStillsCharacterStoriesHateForeverDiseaseFinalsScriptsNeglectInsidiousFinal Words Author:Jennifer Beals
“I've done a number of films. I've been around this. I think the biggest challenge is just getting the script right, the way that you want the script to be. It's really about capturing the complexity of emotions and creating the kind of characters that people will want to watch every week.” PeopleThinkingWayWantKindDoneCharacterFilmChallengesNumbersEmotionWatchesWeekCreatingScriptsComplexity Author:Nicholas Sparks
“When the first emperor wanted to unify the country, one of the major policies was to create one system of written signs. By force, brutal force, he eliminated all the other scripts. One script became the official script. All the others were banned. And those who used other scripts were punished severely. And then the meanings of all the characters, over the centuries, had to be kept uniform as a part of the political apparatus. So from the very beginning the written word was a powerful political tool.” FirstsCountryCharacterWantedPoliticalUsedForcePowerfulWrittenCenturyPolicyMajorsToolsScriptsOfficialsBrutalUniformsEmperorBannedWritten Word Author:Ha Jin
“When I do a movie, I have the script. I know how it begins and how it ends. I know what my character does and where he's going. If I have ideas I want to express or changes I want to make, there's one guy: the director. It's different in television.” IfsKnowsWantDoeIdeasDifferentEndsCharacterGuyKnow HowTelevisionDirectorsScripts Author:Holt McCallany
“I read the script and I really liked it. It was high energy, crazy and it goes to any level to get people nuts and I thought Eve was an interesting character. At first I didn't get her, so it made me want to do the role because I wanted to dive in and see what she was about. On top of that I also wanted to work with Jason Statham because he's an amazing actor.” PeopleWantFirstsMadeCharacterWantedActorsEnergyInterestingLevelsRolesCrazyScriptsNutsJasonInteresting CharactersHigh Energy Author:Amy Smart
“To this day, I get rewrite offers where they say: 'We feel this script needs work with character, dialogue, plot and tone,' and when you ask what's left, they say: 'Well, the typing is very good.'” NeedsFeelsWellsCharacterAsksLeftOffersVery GoodScriptsDialogueTonePlotThis DayTyping Author:John Sayles
“Well, obviously I was excited by the idea that Woody Allen was going to direct it. But at the same time, the script itself and the character was really interesting.” WellsIdeasCharacterInterestingDirectScriptsExcitedReally InterestingWoody Author:Radha Mitchell
“A film is a living thing. The screenplay is a guideline. You really need to have a good, sound script to know that you have a dramatic structure that's going to work thematically, and to know how one scene will got through another, and to get a sense of character.” KnowsNeedsCharacterFilmSoundKnow HowSceneStructureScriptsDramaticGoing To WorkLiving ThingsScreenplaysGuidelines Author:Jose Padilha
“I don't even know why, but my entire career is contemporary films. Entire career! There's no period movies - there's one - but there's no period movies, no special effects movies. I just do character studies and so, some of them are gonna bump into each other, but I love the challenge, with a good script. I love the challenge of playing not a very pleasant or attractive character that seduces an audience or wins an audience over by the end.” KnowsEndsCharacterFilmWinningChallengesCareersAudienceStudySpecialEffectsPeriodsScriptsContemporaryAttractivePleasantBumpsSeducingSpecial Effects Author:Michael Douglas
“It's rare that I've read a script where I'm like, "Oh, my god, it's hilarious!" All you want is a good skeleton and good characters. Then, you can go, "Okay, I can bring a lot to this. I can improvise and I can create something out of this."” WantI CanCharacterOkayScriptsSkeletonsGood Character Author:Nick Swardson
“There's actually a big difference between story and character. A great story doesn't make a great movie. A great script, which defines its moments and characters can become a great movie. You can make a movie that makes a lot of money and it may or may not have great story or great characters.” MayMomentsCharacterStoriesBigsDifferencesScriptsLots Of MoneyGreat Character Author:Kevin Costner
“When I'm writing a script, I don't worry about plot as much as I do about people. I get to know the main characters - what they need, what they want, what they should do. That's what gets the story going. You can't just have action, you've got to find out what the characters want. And then they must grow, they must go somewhere.” PeopleKnowsWantNeedsShouldWritingCharacterStoriesActionGrowsWorryScriptsPlotMain Characters Author:Mel Brooks