Michael Shannon Quotes

I really don't know what I'm doing... I don't. It's terrible. I go in there and I learn how to be like the character and do the best I can, and that's all I really do.

I just feel my way through. If I had to give an acting class, I wouldn't know what to do.

I've never tried to learn the art of acting. I have been in the business for years but I still can't tell what acting is or how it's done.

I think I'm still trying to find my feet as an actor. And I know it ain't brain surgery, but it confuses me and it comes between me and my sleep a lot.

A lot of acting techniques are very self-oriented.

Acting is doing. The more you do, the more you learn. Work begets work.

As an actor, you learn, every time you work.

I would be an actress for the rest of my life just because it's really relaxing. Writing is hard work, and stand-up is so stressful before you get on stage, but acting is a complete ensemble experience.

I had an acting coach while I was doing the show and every week I could see my work improving. I really liked working on the show because I was learning new things every day.

It's not good just to have life experience of film-making and that's all. It's hard to play a real person when you've been in jets and town cars for three years.

You learn an incredible amount doing theatre, not just about to behave.

You know, I've never been much of a method actor. I feel like, with every project I go in extremely prepared and I like to have a good time.

I want to be uncomfortable - acting is uncomfortable.

I think actors get too comfortable. I like being uncomfortable as an actor because it keeps you alive. I don't know, I think it's important.

On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact.

On stage, I am in the dark.

I've been on projects before where there's no rehearsal, and you walk in on set and that's literally the first time you've ever played the character, and then I've had times where there's been three weeks of rehearsal. I like both.

Actors are investigators.

Having a guy on a microphone yelling lines at you is counter to a lot of acting techniques.

My only qualifications to be an actor were that I'm daring, and I'm a quick learner. I've always learnt by watching what other people do. It's the same with my writing. I write what I know. Structurally, I write in a very undisciplined way.

As much as I know people love the method and what you can draw out of yourself, a lot of acting is very imaginative.

I have no idea what 'method actor' means.

I had to study acting to basically educate myself.

That's the beauty of the acting world. You can play so many different characters who know and do so many things that you have no idea about as yourself. So I'm a big fan of workshops and classes and learning new things because you can always apply it. It's your little supply bag of creativity. Keep filling it up.

Acting is not a mystery. There's nothing that I know that other actors don't know. We all act, we're all actors, we all know the same thing. The only thing that separates us is experience.