David Duchovny Quotes

I'm just looking always for characters that change, because I want to get better, as an actor and as a person.

You grow up a lot on set, but it doesn't change you.

I used to watch dailies and felt I had to keep on top of the character, but I don't feel that any more.

Great men grow.

… the field of action is not the field of intellect, it is the field of character; and change or development of character is always slow work.

In life, unlike in movies, people don't change - what's the word I'm looking for? - absolutely. They change a bit, slowly.

Guys play characters that won't grow up and something catastrophic happens and they have to grow up to save the day - that's pretty much what today's comedy is about.

People are like plants: They grow; they change every day.

As a character, it's very interesting to play someone who wants to change their life and have him change it.

In high school, I used to think it was "like sooooo cool" if a guy had an awesome car. Now none of that matters. These days I look for character and honesty and trust.

When I was young, I was very selfish, now not any more.

It's very rare that you get to play a character over the course of so many films. Bella meant a lot to me and she will always be such a formative event in my career. I grew up with her and she and I have been on this great journey together. I also see many parallels between her evolution and my own because I lived through so many things along the way while playing Bella and having this connection to so many people involved in making the films over the years. It would be impossible for me to separate my world from Bella's.

I also think within the scene, a specific scene - if I were to play a part that I played 10 years ago now, my interpretation of that scene would be totally different. I would be making different choices. Because I can't somehow subtract all of the experiences that I've had in my life. And it's fascinating to see, because somewhere I'm very reflective in that. You know, I've been playing basically actually close to 40 years old, so I'm somewhere lost in age in this movie. But it's been fascinating to see that I can't subtract that time.

I was shocked by the reaction I got for Bleak House. It was very intensive but one of the best jobs of my life. It was a chance to play a character that grows and develops and I was very enmeshed in it. But I didn't realise how stylish it was and how much people would love it.

Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better or worse people, but by the end of the story they are not the same personalities they were in the beginning. Their change, in its various stages, is called the story's emotional arc.

I just think of interesting roles to play. I guess that I have matured, I guess growing up and becoming a man, your taste in characters changes and I think I have become more interested in active characters as I have become less contemplative in my personal life. Things have become a little bit more interesting in the doing these days and less interesting in the thinking about the doing.

The endings for all my characters seem sufficiently human and messy for me to feel comfortable with them. In some ways they have only moved an inch, but sometimes an inch is a great distance.

Rebellion is necessary for development of character.

People say that crisis changes people and turns ordinary people into wiser or more responsible ones.

Being an actor opened doors for me to explore my emotions as different people and characters, and expand my own inner soul.

If you're lucky enough to get to play a character for a long time, it's life-changing.

What has emerged as I've gotten older is simplifying the characters I play, unless the role calls for something that is arcane or ornate.

We all do grow as humans.

People say to me 'You've changed.' and I say 'Haven't you?' People change, it's just life.

Sherlock Holmes can be wise and funny. He wasn't, at the beginning. But later on, he's got a bantering relationship with loads of people. He's got a wisdom that he didn't have in the early stage. But he stays on the mountain top, and he will die up there. He's not going to change that.