Jed Mercurio Quotes

I think horror should never be safe, whether it's violent or non violent.

'The Walking Dead' never wants you to get too comfortable with characters and cast members. I think about the time you feel fairly secure with your appreciation of a character is about the time the show will gut-punch you.

I think suspense is a big thing.

The thing with film and theater is that you always know the story so you can play certain cues in each scene with the knowledge that you know where the story's going to end and how it's going to go. But on television nobody knows what's going to happen, even the writers.

We like drama. Even in our comedy, we like drama.

You can go to a play that is enjoyable because it's funny, and then on the next night you can go to a play that's enjoyable because it's 'disturbing.'

I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling thing of all.

Drama and comedy, to me, are all about being surprising, coherent, and true, all at once.

On TV, you never know where it's going. They may even lie to you about where it's going. You never really know because the scripts come in every couple of weeks or so.

Anyone can die. Rule number one is don't get too attached to a character, anyone can go.

When you go into the theatre and the lights dim, you want to entertain people from beginning to end. You want them to be swept up in your story, on the edge of their seats, unable to wait to see what happens next, be blown away and afterwards just go, 'Wow!'

The problem in cinema is that you can never predict what will happen.

I do sometimes play characters that are a bit ambiguous. You've got to be brave about that sort of stuff. I like the sense of people not feeling too secure, not immediately knowing what they have in front of them.

Being part of 'Game of Thrones,' you're always expecting your character to die. You're not mentally preparing yourself for a very long haul.

It's so great in the theater when everyone catches up on the truth.

The essence to me of all good drama is argument.

Whenever we start a new TV series, there's also a lot of question marks, and part of that is finding who you are.

You have to realize, making movies is the weirdest thing you could ever do. It's a contrivance, but you're attempting to reach people's hearts in the dark, and there are so many factors that are out of your control.

Suspense is a real tough beast in terms of the filmmaking.

I like when an audience doesn't know what's going to happen to a character, and I like when I don't know. I'm learning, too - I don't get the script, like, until the last day.

People don't come to the theatres to watch a kiss. It's the story that appeals to them.

A lot of horror movies just look at how they can scare people, and no matter which character dies, you don't ever really feel enough to actually care.

I remember watching episodes of 'The Sopranos' and being filled with dread knowing what was coming or anticipating what was coming. I don't think that that's always a bad thing. I think sometimes the audience needs a little catharsis held away from them.

I feel, in drama, you don't need to be fed everything. Even though sometimes when you watch, you want to know what happened and you want to see it, I feel like sometimes it's so much stronger to see the effects that those actions have had.

Make the audience wonder what's going on by putting them in the same position as the protagonist.