The actor has to develop his body. The actor has to work on his voice. But the most important thing the actor has to work on is his mind.
quote by Stella Adler

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Behind the Scenes
The actor struts his little hour,
Between the limelight and the band;
The public feel the actor's power,
Yet nothing do they understand
Of all the touches here and there
That make or mar the actor's part,
They never see, beneath the glare,
The artist striving after art.
To them it seems a labour slight
Where nought of study intervenes;
You see it in another light
When once you've been behind the scenes.
For though the actor at his best
Is, like a poet, born not made,
He still must study with a zest
And practise hard to learn his trade.
So, whether on the actor's form
The stately robes of Hamlet sit,
Or as Macbeth he rave and storm,
Or plays burlesque to please the pit,
'Tis each and all a work of art,
That constant care and practice means --
The actor who creates a part
Has done his work behind the scenes.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Well, an actor is an actor is actor, to paraphrase someone or other and the opportunity to work, to have a steady engagement, certainly seemed like an appealing concept to me.
quote by Walter Koenig

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
An actor is an actor is an actor. The less personality an actor has off stage the better. A blank canvas on which to draw the characters he plays.
quote by Arthur Lowe

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Actor Of Love
Hold on
I have found something I longing for
To fill the hollowness of my heart
But why I'm feeling more of sorrow
Before
I am the one who said: 'Oh, I'll control'
But now I realize you are my world
And it's waiting to break apart
I'm an actor of love
I'm trying to perfect
But I'm just fooling around
I'm an actor of love
I want to be your hero
But I've made myself a clown
I'm an actor of love
I need you by my side
But now you leave me alone
I'm an actor of love
I beg your forgiveness
But you refuse me so cold
Sometimes
We wonder why we should be together
Do we really dream of love forever?
Or we afraid to be alone
I'm an actor of love
I want to protect you
But I always hurt you bad
I'm an actor of love
I want to be your shield
But may turn someone you hate
I'm an actor of love
We kiss in the morning
But in night we have a war
I'm an actor of love
We care for each other
But we only circle round
If this love only makes me crazy
Take the story and just let it be
Tragedy or comedy
Or anything it wants to be
poem by Maria Sudibyo

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My dad had been an actor... not only had my dad been an actor, but his dad had been an actor, and my great-grandfather had been an actor. And who knows before then?
quote by David Hyde Pierce

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

There's one thing better than having a great actor, and that's having a great actor who's never done this kind of role before and is hungry to do it. They're testing themselves every day. They want to get out of their trailer and get to work.
quote by Sam Mendes

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The first work of the director is to set a mood so that the actor's work can take place, so that the actor can create. And in order to do that, you have to communicate, communicate with the actors. And direction is about communication on all levels.
quote by William Friedkin

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
When I got to the reading all the work, I was reduced to being an actor in an experimental play that I'd already written. And I didn't want to be an actor.
quote by David Antin

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
My hunger and desperation, being an actor, an out of work actor - my memory of that is as fresh as an open wound.
quote by Griffin Dunne

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I'm foremost an actor. I feel embarrassed being compared to the guys who really work at it. I fake it, I make believe I know all about it, which is what you're supposed to do as an actor.
quote by Lloyd Bridges

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I just don't think that I could be the kind of actor I want to be and not be honest with myself. Honesty is very important to me as an actor and as a person. I didn't even think about it.
quote by Randy Harrison

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

If I have enough ego to say I'm a writer, a director, a producer, and an actor, I should have the energy and the knowledge to write a scene for this great actor named Henry Fonda and direct him in it and have it work.
quote by Peter Fonda

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Studios have been trying to get rid of the actor for a long time and now they can do it. They got animation. NO more actor, although for now they still have to borrow a voice or two. Anyway, I find it abhorrent.
quote by James Coburn

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
You can't get an actor to do something that is beyond his range, so you have to be aware of the range of the actor and, if necessary, alter the part to suit the actor.
quote by John Boorman

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

As an actor, particularly because I'm - I would call myself a character actor. I change my look, my physical appearance and my body, my hair color, my whatever all the time for a role.
quote by Lynn Redgrave

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy!
The only thing we don't do together is get in front of an actor and show any indecision at all about what we think. We don't always agree, so we meet privately, then one or the other will approach the actor.
quote by Bobby Farrelly

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. I think all the courage that I may lack personally, I have as an actor.
quote by George C. Scott

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
If there's anything I'd hate as a son-in-law, it's an actor; and if there's anything I think I'd hate worse than an actor as a son-in-law, it's an English actor.
quote by Joseph P. Kennedy

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The attitude of the actor is his interpretation of what he reads, and the written word is what creates the role in the actor's mind, and I guess in reading the things that were given to me, I reacted as you guys saw me, you know.
quote by Gene Barry

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
As a working actor, all I want to do is work. That's it. It's terrifying when you don't work. It's very hard when you don't work. There have been times when I've been out of work for like six months. I feel theatre to me is like manna.