The Quotable Actor: 1001 Pearls of Wisdom from Actors Talking About Acting

361 Pages·2009·6.14 MB·English

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Copyright ©2009 by Damon DiMarco
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part or in any form or
format without the written permission of the publisher.
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ISBN-13 978-1-59580-044-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The quotable actor : 1001 pearls of wisdom from actors talking about acting
/ [compiled] by Damon DiMarco.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59580-044-2
1. Acting—Quotations, maxims, etc. 2. Actors—Quotations. I. DiMarco,
Damon.
PN6084.A25Q68 2009
792.02’8—dc22
2009002319
Cover and interior design and production by Future Studio
In memory of Joe Patenaude,
for Bill Esper,
and for actors.
“We’re actors.
Actors speak a certain language to each other.”
Al Pacino
Contents
7 Introduction
9 On What Acting Is
17 On What Actors Are
23 On Actors and Society
31 On Why We Act
49 On Conquering Stage Fright and
Developing Confidence in Your Talent
65 On the Actor’s Life
85 On Auditioning
93 On Struggling and Building a Career
117 On the Importance of Technique and Training
135 On the Importance of Maintaining a
Healthy and Expressive Instrument
143 On the Importance of Imagination,
Inspiration, Fantasy, and Storytelling
153 On Building a Character
173 On Rehearsals and the Acting Process
195 On Collaborating with Directors, Writers,
Producers, Designers, and Other Industry
Professionals
215 On the Stage and the Screen
231 On Doing Television: Soaps, Sitcoms,
Episodics, and Live Broadcasts
237 On Dealing with the Ups and Downs of
Fame and Fortune
255 On Hollywood, Broadway, and Show Business
271 On Gender Differences and Aging in the Biz
281 On Awards and Awards Ceremonies
287 On Getting Typecast
297 On the Importance of Keeping It Real and
Having a Life
309 Shakespeare on Acting
315 Acknowledgments
316 Sources
350 Index
Introduction
My first acting teacher was a font of knowledge.
One time, he wasn’t satisfied with a scene my partner
and I were working on. We ran the scene the way we’d
rehearsed it, but my teacher kept stopping us. Each time he
did, he dropped a pearl of wisdom.
“There,” he’d say. “Right there. What are you doing in
that moment?”
We had to admit that we didn’t really know.
“Aha,” my teacher said. “If you don’t know what you’re
doing, your audience won’t, either. Make a choice and try it
again.”
We’d start the scene all over again, but our teacher would
stop us, this time at a different moment. “There,” he’d say. “That
moment right there. What are you doing? It isn’t clear.”
I told him I was trying to communicate an idea, but he
shook his head.
“ How are you trying to communicate your idea? Are
you beating her over the head with it? Are you painting her a
beautiful picture? Are you guilting her into seeing your point
of view? General actions lead to general performances. Be
specific. Always be specific.”
At one point, I asked my teacher, “What do you do
when you’re working on a scene and everything’s going great,
but a moment comes up like it just did here, and you realize
you don’t know what to do?”
My teacher shrugged and said, “Sometimes, not having
the answer is the answer. When in doubt? Discover.”
The QuoTAble AcTor 8
At the end of that rehearsal, I picked up my notebook
and wrote these three pearls down in big block letters.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING,
NEITHER WILL YOUR AUDIENCE.
ALWAYS BE SPECIFIC.
WHEN IN DOUBT: DISCOVER.
Later, I went back to my room and wrote those pearls
on my wall, also in big block letters. That way I could read
them often and reflect on them. More were soon to follow.
My first acting teacher made me a junkie for good
quotes. The wise ones. The funny ones. The ones that summa-
rized a lifetime’s worth of experience in a few simple words.
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but don’t
rule out the value of a good quote.
Quotes are windows to someone else’s experience. Here
and there, they’ve saved me months of grappling with issues I
faced in my work.
I hope this book will do the same for you, my fellow ac-
tor. All the people quoted within probably love acting as much
as you do. They’re worth listening to. My thanks and respect
to them for dropping their pearls of wisdom, and to you for
picking them up.
Damon DiMarco
On What Acting Is
“ The best definition . . . that I have ever heard about acting
was given by George Burns. . . . [He said:] ‘I’ll tell you what’s
the most important thing about acting, and that’s honesty.
If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.’” Jack Lemmon
★ ★ ★
“Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.”
Sanford Meisner
★ ★ ★
“Acting is a form of confession.”
Tallulah Bankhead
★ ★ ★