Emily Mortimer Quotes

Doing an accent removes you from yourself and reminds you, every instant, that you're playing a part.

As an actor, I always feel you basically have to be able to delude yourself.

If I were to play somebody who ran a fish and chip shop, I would not work in a fish and chip shop for three months. Staring at chips is not going to help me in my performance.

Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the essence of the whole business of acting.

An actor is someone who pretends to be somebody else. A movie star is somebody who pretends that somebody else is them.

I've played American characters so many times now, it's so natural to me. But when I play American, I stay in the American accent from the minute I get the job till the minute I wrap.

I have always like doing accents; I find it much easier to get into character for me.

You draw on whatever's relevant to the part you're playing; it makes it more personal.

You know what it is, when I'm playing a role sometimes, I just tend to stay in that role. It's easier to maintain. We just shot a pilot in a very thick American accent. I feel like the character lives in me. Of course, my family tease me about it.

I think some actors are very smart and have the tools. They know how to disconnect themselves from the characters, but I think for a lot of them, it's very difficult.

When you're an actor, you do get involved with your characters - your emotional life is tied up with theirs, and so is your physical life.

I believe I am a character actor who likes to hide behind my characters.

For actors, the idea is that you convince people you're someone you're not.

I can't do an accent unless I'm on the set. I forget how to do it until I'm on the set.

When I do a character, I try to base it on someone I have met or an experience I've had.

If James Franco's wearing a costume, and I'm wearing a motion capture suit, we don't act any differently with each other because of what we're wearing. We're embodying our roles.

I've got to tell you, I've played real characters before and people always bring up this word 'impersonation,' and I'm never entirely sure what it means.

Sometimes, when you're acting, you are so in the moment that you don't even remember what just happened.

The thing about being an actor is that you're acting. It's not that big of a deal of to play someone different from yourself.

I've played a lot of very posh, sort of noble or aristocratic English people, which is nothing like what I am, so I feel that there is quite a lot distance there and have played a little bit far away from myself.

I love doing impressions and I love doing accents.

Yeah, I think the common denominator - and this is probably going to sound like Acting 101 - but the common denominator is belief in the character in the moment.

That's what acting is. You're pretending to be someone else.

Ultimately, the idea of acting is to understand the people you're playing, and then where they're coming from is not so mystifying. You've got to detox a bit after, though.

I always enjoy impersonating my characters in the first-person singular.