Urgent optimism is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success.
There's a charm, there's a rhythm, there's a soul to Jewish humor. When I first saw Richard Pryor perform, I told him, 'You're doing a Jewish act.'
The sense of humor has other things to do than to make itself conspicuous in the act of laughter.
Shakespeare in Love... such smart writing of an alternative view of history, and such beautiful acting. Like most Americans, I'm a sucker for the accent.
Part of what I enjoy about the theatre and acting is that sense of history.
Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.
I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.
My dad said, 'If no one was giving me acting work, I'd have to be prepared to create it myself.'
I'll say my dad couldn't act to save his life and nor can my uncle, and they'll say I'm the worst actor in the world.
My mom always liked the idea of us acting - me and my sister - like, one of us trying it. But my dad always thought it was a joke.
Dreams can be like charades in which we act out words rather than see or speak them.
Goal-getting matters. And writing down the brave acts and bold dreams you intend to accomplish will provide the spark to get them done.
A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching.
Film is something that came later into my life. I had a Jesuit education, and I consider acting and the theater as kind of a calling - a vocation.
The Endangered Species Act is the strongest and most effective tool we have to repair the environmental harm that is causing a species to decline.
I mean, '8½' to me is such a great dissertation on the whole, you know, act of filmmaking and creativity.
Sometimes 'great acting' is just showing off - chewing up scenery and dialogue and other actors - the equivalent of a theatrical sugar rush.
The great thing about acting is that you get to be a lot of different things in one lifetime. You get to explore different personalities and characters.
You bring out a lot of your own thoughts and attitudes when acting. I think a great deal of it has to do with the inner you.
I didn't know if I could act, but I knew I could be a great ballet dancer, and Balanchine put out the carpet for me.
Acting has been gentrified. It's become part of the bourgeoisie. But there was a time when it would be a great scandal if you announced you were going to be an actor.
