If a director, I believe, has vision and knows so clearly what they want, then you can have a film that can perform. Whereas you can have done 50 movies, but if you're unsure this time, your movie may not turn out.
Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music and how that could work onstage or in a film and how you could support that even further by putting lyrics to it.
I don't go by brand names for directors.
It does not feel any different being directed by a first-timer as long as I am convinced that the director is passionate about the film he or she is making. If you get a sense of their vision for the film and their aesthetics of your performance, then it does not matter whether you work with a new or an experienced director.
I look for a director with a script he likes a lot, but I'm probably after the directors more than anything.
So yeah, a good director will be able to listen and hear everything, but have a confident vision of his own that he can say, 'oh yeah - that's a great point.' And you never know; often you can help far more than you think you can, because there's so much more that he's juggling than an actor.
In the past I've worked with directors who saw very much their scene in their head and knew exactly how they were going to cut it.
It helps for actors if you have one director.
The truth of the matter is this - I never look for films specifically, because ultimately if the fundamentals of the character and the script and the director aren't there, it makes it a moot point.
If your director knows what he wants on screen, it makes things easier.
A lot of directors don't know what they want to do. Every director I've seen that was a good director that I've admired knew exactly what he wanted to do. They didn't sit there and think about it.
When you can find a strong character and a director that does want to protect the integrity of all characters, female and male, then you have a good deal.
The difference between an experienced director and a new director is not as big as the difference between individual directors, the temperament they have, and the things they're interested in.
