ACTING QUOTES
quotations about acting
The actor is an athlete of the heart.
ANTONIN ARTAUD
The Theatre and Its Double
Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
GEORGE BURNS
Acting is the least mysterious of all crafts. Whenever we want something from somebody or when we want to hide something or pretend, we're acting. Most people do it all day long.
MARLON BRANDO
New York Times, Jul. 2, 2004
I find that's one of the great things about acting--you have the opportunity to stand in somebody else's shoes, whether it's someone with mental health problems or someone who lives and works in a small town. Each character faces a dilemma in her life, and as an actor you're able to step into that character's skin, look through her eyes. You leave transformed, a different person, because once you live a little bit of someone's life, it changes you.
SALLY FIELD
Ability Magazine, Feb. 2009
Acting is a marvelous profession ... If you can spend enough time playing other people, you don't have to think too much about your own character and motivations.
DEAN KOONTZ
Odd Hours
Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It's a bum's life. Quitting acting, that's the sign of maturity.
MARLON BRANDO
attributed, Halliwell's Filmgoer's and Video Viewer's Companion
Good actors, never use the script unless it's amazing writing. All the good actors I've worked with, they all say whatever they want to say.
JESSICA ALBA
Elle Magazine, Dec. 2010
For an actress to be a success she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.
ETHEL BARRYMORE
attributed, The Theatre in the Fifties
It's not whether you really cry. It's whether the audience thinks you are crying.
INGRID BERGMAN
attributed, Halliwell's Filmgoer's and Video Viewer's Companion
For almost every character I've played in the 43 years I've been working as a professional actor, I've found parts of myself. We are all bipolar in the tiniest essence of what it is. We are all multiple personalities, in a sense, and to be healthy mentally, I think, learning what those multiple personalities are and inviting them in your life is really important.
SALLY FIELD
Ability Magazine, Feb. 2009
As actors, we are required to bring pieces of our personality and experiences to a role, more so than any other job. Take a look at any actor you admire and I guarantee there is a common thread to their performances, whether they're playing a drunk pirate or a high-profile politician (which, contrary to popular belief, are not the same thing), you can generally see similarities in their personality or choices. That's because they understand who they are as a person and know the right parts of themselves to infuse into a role. That's not to say they aren't "becoming" someone else, but you have to realize that you can't truly take on another person if you don't know yourself at least a little bit.
ROBERT PETERPAUL
"The 1 Most Important Question Actors Must Ask", Backstage, September 7, 2016
It's what I learn from the great actors that I work with. Stillness. That's all and that's the hardest thing.
MORGAN FREEMAN
"A Taste of Freeman", Film Freak Central, July 20, 2015
An actor can practice anywhere any time with anybody, and most of them do.
ARCHIE GOODWIN
Death of a Dude
I love acting because it's this space where dreams can be realized, fantasy comes to life, and there are no limitations on what's possible.
JESSICA ALBA
The Honest Life
I give myself to my parts as to a lover.
VANESSA REDGRAVE
Time Magazine, vol. 89, 1967
The fame of an actor is won in minutes and seconds, not in years.
BRAM STOKER
Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving
It's the actors who are prepared to make fools of themselves who are usually the ones who come to mean something to the audience.
CHRISTIAN BALE
attributed, Christian Bale: the Dark Knight Unmasked
One of the things about acting is it allows you to live other people's lives without having to pay the price.
ROBERT DE NIRO
attributed, Cinespia
The art of acting consists in keeping people from coughing.
RALPH RICHARDSON
The Observer
I wanted to stop acting. The director was like, "It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry? Cry pretty, Jessica." He was like, "Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in." And I'm like, But there's no connection to a human being. And then it got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, "F--k it. I don't care about this business anymore."
JESSICA ALBA
"Why Fantastic Four made Jessica Alba want to stop acting", Blastr, December 14, 2012