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Quotes about acting

55 quotes from 35 people

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The part never calls for it. And I’ve never ever used that excuse. The box office calls for it.
Helen Mirrenborn 1945Of nudity on stage, as quoted in The Guardian (31 December 1994)
I enjoy being a highly overpaid actor.
Roger Moore1927–2017
A star on a movie set is like a time bomb. That bomb has got to be defused so people can approach it without fear.
Jack Nicholsonborn 1937
If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how wrong it seems, follow the impulse. It might be something and if it ain’t⁠—take two!
Jack Nicholsonborn 1937
When I come up against a director who has a concept that I don’t agree with, or maybe I just haven’t thought of it or whatever, I’d be more prone to go with them than my own because I want to be out of control as an actor, I want them to have the control, otherwise it’s going to become predictably my work, and that’s not fun.
Jack Nicholsonborn 1937
I act for free, but I demand a huge salary as compensation for all the annoyance of being a public personality. In that sense, I earn every dime I make.
Michelle Pfeifferborn 1958Esquire (1990)
- Fame
The art of acting consists in keeping people from coughing.
Ralph Richardson1902–1983Often credited to Benjamin Franklin
Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.
Ralph Richardson1902–1983As quoted in the New York Herald Tribune (19 May 1946)
Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.
Alan Rickman1946–2016Interview: Alan Rickman on “Nobel Son” by Aaron Hillis, IFC.com (4 December 2008)
- Art
- Change
Actors are one family over the entire world.
Eleanor Roosevelt1884–1962
Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden auditorium of his skull.
Rod Serling1924–1975Rod Serling Vogue, (1 April, 1957).
- Writing
The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Hamlet (c. 1600), Act II, Scene II, spoken by HamletIn context
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over
In States unborn, and accents yet unknown!
William Shakespeare1564–1616Julius Caesar (1599), Act III, Scene I, spoken by CassiusIn context
- History
I will roar you as gently as any sucking dove; I will roar you an ’twere any nightingale.
William Shakespeare1564–1616A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c. 1595), Act I, Scene II, spoken by BottomIn context
- Comedy
The best in this kind are but shadows; and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.
William Shakespeare1564–1616A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c. 1595), Act V, Scene I, spoken by TheseusIn context
- Art