Performance Freedom Quotes

Ed Sullivan brought me to TV first in 1952, then Garry Moore's program gave me a lot of confidence and freedom.

When I'm [playing] a character, I can look at it and know it's not me and not be concerned with how it looks.

Some people would look at a backing track as something that would confine you, but it really frees us up. It's nice not to be strapped down to a certain spot when you're trying to put on a show.

I don't have to be a leading man. I can be a character actor. That's really what interests me anyway.

Ice shows give us the opportunity to forget ourselves and just perform. They are amazing opportunities to be in front of audience to try out new material, to show new costuming. It's an incredible opportunity to do what we do without the stress of worrying about what a judge is going to say.

I like a director who is very observant and is watching what I'm doing and noticing what I'm doing but is giving me time to figure it out. They don't jump right in and give you a note before you've had time to really search on your own with how to do a scene. I like a director that encourages me to be playful.

I think age is sometimes just a number. But it's a real joy. Young actors don't come with any of the baggage that we load ourselves up with. They're not worried about their profile, they're not worried about how good they look, or all the nonsense. They just tell the story and ask: "What happens in this scene?" Well, I'll do that then. And professionally it's good for you because it means that you're forced to do the same thing, and that's always a good thing.

You can put out an album and it could be totally out of the window as far as what you want to do performance-wise.

I like a director that encourages me to be playful. I don't really like being restricted or controlled by a director.

I did not want to be coming off the stage at the mercy of what somebody else told me I did.

You can do stuff onstage that you can't do offstage. You can be angry as hell and enraged and get away with it onstage, but not off.

I never look at a note. I just roam the stage. The people do not want to leave.

I like your own shows because you can have a bit more fun and extend your set, you can go a bit over if you want because it's your show. Whereas at festivals it's very strict, like if you go like two minutes over they get ready to pull the plug kind-of-thing. They're both good and bad.

I feel as though, as an actor, you can only make brave choices when you're acting with people that you're so relaxed with that you can make a mistake.

Sitcoms are incredibly limiting. When you do a sitcom and it becomes a signature part for you, it's harder to do something else; but if you do a drama, you can get lost in it and have a role to do other things.

I just want to be able to get onstage and move and move around.

What I enjoy most about being on stage is that the natural instruments give you a greater freedom with texture. When you use natural instruments they have their own resonance.

I love playing a villain. I think that there's something freeing about that, and it's a different kind of challenge.

Getting into the voice-over booth, there are no cameras and no inhibitions.

I've been known to wear pajamas onstage for the sole reason of wanting to make sure I'm free enough to execute new things vocally onstage and give my best performance possible.

The main thing is the ability to control your instrument, which, in the actor, is yourself. Look the way you want the character to look. Sound the way you want the character to sound. Once you've trained the instrument to do what you want, you're in control, and you're free.

I am extremely malleable as an actor, but I also know how to get away with doing things the way I want, even if the director disagrees.

I've always improvised, and stand-up was this great release. All of a sudden, it was just me and the audience.

Playing the villain, bringing her to life, is the most fun because there really are no rules.

I would say I am more concerned with the plays I'm going to do than the movies. I'm more comfortable in a play. In film, there's always a certain sense of control, of holding back. The stage is different ; there's more to act. There are more demands put on you, more experiences to go through.