Paul Greengrass Quotes

That's the thing about acting - you can't fake it.

I approach a comedy the same way I do a drama. I try to make it as real as possible.

Acting is about being in the moment and audiences are smart to know what is authentic and what is not.

Actors are the most important. Performance is what matters. Nothing matters more than the actors; they have to perform. No one else can give life to the characters. Audiences must believe the characters as real and the moments as real.

When I'm doing a role the one thing I ask is 'Is this believable? am I being truthful?'

On some level in acting, what you're trying to find is truth, because when it's true is when it's also funny.

I know whenever it comes to be really dysfunctional and vile and base and hostile on screen, I'm good at that!

What I try to do often when I'm acting and what I like when I'm seeing good acting is how authentic it is. How true is this to what I know of the world that's been created for me? The ultimate test for me is, like, if I heard a clip of it on the radio, I'd like the audience not to know if I'm acting.

Drama is action, sir, action and not confounded philosophy.

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

What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out.

In order to represent life on the stage, we must rub elbows with life, live ourselves.

When actors are the real deal, all that star whatever goes right out the window and you're there to tell a story.

I get very involved in my roles. I want people to think it's all really happening. If I'm in it, I'm in it.

Acting is the art of being and existing, and not being fake.

Every character I've played is goofy, but it has to have some type of reality.

I'm not interested in putting naturalism on stage - I want passion.

I love a bit of drama.

For me, making a lot of dramas on one side it's a different sort of challenge, and on the other, it's not a challenge at all, meaning that my goal is to try and bring the realism and acting you might find in a straight drama with the intentions and conflict, where it doesn't feel tongue-in-cheek, but rather committed and real.

Good drama must be drastic.

It's an acting job - acting natural.

Acting takes so much energy.

The first time I ever screamed at someone was in a scene, and I'd never screamed at someone in my life.

Acting is all about truth and honesty, and the sensitivity that's capable of transporting you.

Acting is not about knowing all this stuff; it's about character.