Vera Farmiga Quotes

I don't approach my acting as just saying a few lines and then going off-screen. It's a craft. I really invest in trying to make it a craft.

When I was doing 'Ordinary People' and 'Taps,' I never wondered if it would have a lasting impression. I was just wanting to make the best film we could and do my part in that and be true to what my responsibilities were.

As an actor, you express certain things because they need to be expressed, and then you don't really feel a need to do it again. I want to feel something else, you know?

You know one of the things about going from modeling to acting is it's so much more fulfilling. With modeling, you get your picture taken, which is great, good for you, you know? But in acting, you're able to reach in and show a little bit more of yourself.

People say to me, 'Why do you do these ugly parts?' And it's because at the end of the day, I'm an actress, and I crave the dark and the light within one job.

I thought as an actress I would be able to have broader emotional experiences, but then I quickly figured out that I wanted to think about tragic dramas, not act in them.

The artists who stand out to me have a passion for what they do. There are a lot of people who can sing. It's just like when you go to church and people are singing because it sounds good, not because it feels good. There's a difference.

As an actor, our very palette is one of imagination. So it is a walk onto an empty space and then imagine the world beyond it is what we do.

I would love to do more movies. I'd like to get into some theater, too, if I could, just to learn more. I want to do gritty performances that I'm proud of. It doesn't matter to me if four people see it or millions of people see it, as long as I perform in such a way that people go, 'Wow!'

I am often asked which of my films has come closest to my own ideal of performance, and I always answer, 'Educating Rita.'

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

I look at scripts really for whether they can be moving or penetrate some kind of truth. You are constantly chasing that feeling as an actor when every part of a production comes together.

It's always been my hope, as an actor, to reveal only what is relevant about myself to the work.

Acting is my first love. There are still so many characters inside of me that are waiting to come out.

I just want the opportunity to continue to do great films, play great characters and work with great people.

I want to play roles that I'm proud of, that I feel a certain integrity about, and I want to continue to be truthful in the work that I do.

I look for characters that offer me opportunities to explore some aspect of the human condition. I think a lot of actors would say that and would look for that. I've been lucky enough to find projects that let me do that.

As an actor, every opportunity, every role, everything that I do is an opportunity to have someone have a human experience with my work. I don't just want it to be about a cute wardrobe and a high paycheck.

I've always approached acting from a very workmanlike perspective.

I've approached every character I've ever played with a poem, first and foremost.

Acting is not rocket science, but it is an art form. What you are doing is illuminating humanity. Or not.

There's nothing more thrilling than watching great actors say things that you wrote and bring them to life.

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.

I'm a storyteller. I'm always willing to serve the story, a story I believe in, in whatever way is necessary. If I need to write the story I believe in, I will write it. If I've been offered to act in a story that I truly believe in, I will happily do that, but I'm a storyteller. That's something I'm so thankful for.

I come from theatre, and I feel like I have to go back to it every few years because it's like nourishment for the soul. And, as an actor, it's the place you have most control: no one cuts or edits you, and you get to tell the story each night.