Denis Villeneuve Quotes

Preparation is really important for actors; they need to know who they are, where they're from, and the experiences up to the point that we make the film.

Well, I think one of the main things that you have to think about when acting in the movies is to try not to make the acting show.

I think acting really helps as a director. It's just no question, because you totally understand the acting process.

Of course, I love chats with various actors about the process and how they do it. To me, if it's not on the camera, if it's not there, it's not worth it. It really just isn't worth it.

When you see bad acting, that's usually what it is - they're not listening to the other characters. It's always hard with first-time actors to get them in that moment where they are really listening to the other characters and reacting to the other characters.

I think back story can help guide your choices, but when you're playing a scene, you're not making choices; you're just intuitive.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

I'm not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.

When you're acting in a scene, you're focused on doing the scene. You can't break character and go, 'Oh my God, I love what you're doing!'

I think you can really tell a good actor if you can put a camera on them and they can just talk and emote and react and you don't have to keep cutting away from them, because they are the language and the behavior. It's all a tour-de-force performance.

I've done films where we don't rehearse, and I've done films where we heavily rehearse. I like rehearsals.

The secret to acting is don't act. Be you, with add-ons.

I love an acting challenge, and I love getting to sit down with my script and do all my drama work.

My mentor Jon Simmons introduced me to the Stanislavski system, which is so heavy on back-story. So you write and write and write these back stories about a character and then you throw it away. So then on set, if it doesn't come, then you didn't do your work.

Robert De Niro taught me how to listen, and how to be part of the conversation. It's not just about reading your lines and saying what's in the script; you have to understand your character, along with the other characters so that you can always respond.

When you drop your guard in films, the acting process compensates. You get lazy and you start acting.

First of all, the actor needs to get out of the character's way. You follow the character without judgment or prejudice or preconceived ideas.

When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters.

In films you do a scene, you play around with it and unless you're doing a lot of reshooting, which no one has the luxury to do, you deal with the problem for a day and then you move on. On some level, it never allows you to go very deep into what performing is about.

I'm more interested in knowing my cues than my lines. If you know what your cues are, then you know what your reaction is going to be to them. Acting is about reacting, and if I can kind of purely react, that's easier for me.

There's no one more willing to do something than an actor when it comes to perfecting a scene.

When you shoot a film, you have very little time to waste, and I try to go into the character as soon as possible and stay there as much as I can.

People think memorizing lines is hard, when that's the last thing you worry about. You get that done, and then you've got to worry about the internal stuff, which is the challenging part.

All actors bring something unexpected to the role because they have to translate what's on the page and make a real character out of the black-and-white text that's there in the script.

Know your lines; otherwise, have an open mind because you want to get lost in the moment. When you have talented actors and directors to work with, then it's pretty easy to do.