Melanie Laurent Quotes

As an actor, you really want to respect and honor the script. You want to try to be in the moment and you also realize that you're one part of a bigger picture and when they call action, you have your dance.

I have only one rule in acting - trust the director and give him heart and soul.

I think it's a style of acting that you trust. You trust the instincts.

Before shooting, I prepare with the actors much more like it's a theater play than a movie. Apparently, that way of working is very unusual.

Sometimes you do complete run-throughs of scenes, sometimes you break scenes down into little bits. It just depends on what the actors like to do. It's almost like jamming.

I've spent most of my life trying to make actors comfortable, which I think is 90 percent of getting a good performance.

I was amazed by the kind of preparation Hollywood actors do for their roles.

In order to make Alma innocent and open, I had to forget that I'm stressed as an actress because I'm making a film with Paul Thomas Anderson. I had to let go of everything and hold onto the text. The language was like a rope I could cling onto and make my way blindfolded through the shooting.

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

I personally take cues directly from the script, then I like to surprise the other actors. But you must maintain control on a level and see how far you can go up, down or out emotionally. You have to balance the craft with spontaneity.

I'm the sort of actor who likes to talk about what we're going to do.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

With acting, you wanna see if you can get into trouble without knowing how you're gonna get out of it. It's like the exact opposite of war, where you need an exit strategy. When you're acting, you should get all the way into trouble with no exit strategy, and have the cameras rolling.

As an actor, my main focus is finding good writing and attacking a good role.

I guess I'm probably a Method actor; I don't know... I just think of it as staying in the zone.

There are two schools of thought: There are those actors who explain to you that they know exactly how they're going to do the part... And then there is the other method, which is to have no method at all. This is mine.

I'm not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.

I'm the girl that waits for the director to say, 'I like that,' or 'Can you boost it up?,' or 'Can you pull it down?' I'm that kind of actor. I started in theater, so that's the feedback that I'm accustomed to. It's the feedback that I really thrive off of.

I've done films where we don't rehearse, and I've done films where we heavily rehearse. I like rehearsals.

The thing I noticed about Jack was when we did a reading of the script, just to warm up.

What's interesting about the process of acting is how often you don't know what you're doing.

I don't really prepare for each role the same way.

When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters.

When there's no technical problems, if you did the right casting, and the scene is well written, the actor will give you a strong performance with his intuition right from the start.

I think acting really helps as a director. It's just no question, because you totally understand the acting process.