You draw on whatever’s relevant to the part you’re playing. It makes it more personal.
I’ve never been one of those actors who has touted myself as a fascinating human being. I had to decide early on whether I was to be an actor or a personality.
I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I’m sure they’re decent people. I mean they gotta be if they named their son Gaylord Focker.
You talking to me? You talking to me? Then who the hell else are you talking to – you talking to me? Well, I’m the only one here.
I mean, the actors that I admired were Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, an actress named Barbara Harris. And Greta Garbo. They were great actors.
There is only one way to gain access to the truth and that is to not expect anything.
Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.
You do what you do best, try to stop guys like me.
The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.
Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt.
You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it’s all about. A deer’s gotta be taken with one shot.
You don’t need words to express feelings.
Movies are hard to make, and you have to work toward a common ethic and do your best. You don’t want to work with people who don’t care or who are acting out some neurotic, crazy thesis on the set.
As an actor who’s starting out, you can’t say, “Hey, I’m too good for this.” You gotta do it, because people see you, your name gets around, and it has a cumulative effect.
Auditions are like a gamble. Most likely you won’t get the part, but if you don’t go, you’ll never know if you could’ve got it.
New York is more exciting, I guess, than even Paris or London. New York’s the center of something; I don’t know what, really – the center of a lot of things. With all its problems and chaos and craziness, it’s still a great place to live. I can’t see myself living anywhere else.
I can get around pretty easily. People don’t expect to see me walking around.
You always learn something about movies. Directing or acting, there’s always something new. It’s the technological thing; there’s always something to learn.
In civilized societies, we spend our lifetimes trying to become what is socially acceptable. We’re dark and we’re light. We all have both sides to us.
Everyone’s always interested in a dark theme, especially when there’s humor connected to it. It seems like that helps, if that’s an integral and organic part of the whole story.
I don’t remember what made me want to be an actor. In fact, I’m always curious.