Takashi Miike Quotes

I do not use any set methods, not even The Method. The character after all is in the lines.

I started improvising the Cliff character, based on someone I grew up with.

Acting is an imaginative leap, really, isn't it? And imaginations prosper in different circumstances.

I believe that acting in any medium is the same thing, it's discovering the truth in where you are.

I don't really compare any of the characters I play; I try to go into them being very open to what the characters can offer and what I can bring to them and then bring a being to life.

I think as a filmmaker and as a director, you shortchange yourself if you inhibit the ability of your actor to bring their own personal experiences to the characters.

I love doing theater so much - being in front of an audience and seeing how a character grows and develops with every performance.

In terms of the character itself, I can't really say that I find anything really difficult. I enjoy the character so much I don't perceive difficulty in trying to be him. It's just a matter of how do we get there.

I just love to be able to actually build a character.

The way I like to work is to attach personal experiences to what I'm doing, so it helps tremendously if I can write my own play under what the writer has written.

I love an acting challenge, and I love getting to sit down with my script and do all my drama work.

There is always going to be a little bit of me in each character.

I still love finding the soul of the characters I play and defining who they are. This to me is my paint set, and the colors are always exciting to choose.

Creating a role is an interesting thing - each show or each situation is different.

I never dreamed that the little ditties I wrote about annoying customers or bagel recipes would turn into a full-length musical comedy. But a very wise person told me to 'write what you know'. So I did.

Acting is contained - you act for three months, then leave it - but writing is the act of creation. Writing is dangerous.

The magic doesn't come from within the director's mind, it comes from within the hearts of the actors.

Any good production team is going to allow an actor to breathe life into the characters - that's why they hired that woman, that man, whatever the case.

The most fun part for an actor is the writing and the story and the character. That's very fulfilling.

When you have a character to work with, you carry them around in a strange way - they make you look at the world in a different way.

Actors are such wonderful creatures and such wonderful instruments. It's always different on the page or in my head. I hear it differently. I see it differently. And then, you give it to an actor, and it comes alive in a way that you didn't expect.

When we don't have all the details about our characters, we have to make it up to fill in all the details. So, for me, writing and acting go hand in hand.

The way I write my shows, every character is its own organic thing. No character has a life at all until I see it played by somebody.

I'm coming from the notion that acting is an art. It is not a business. It is about building characters, not about selling personalities.

It's such a gift when you know who you're writing for and you know that that actor is capable of so much that you can relax a bit.