I lost 30 pounds to play my character in 'The Mexican', but people don't take to skinny mafia men, and I don't feel right when I'm thin.
I think what's really the most ideal thing is for the player themselves, within their own imagination, to carve out what they view as being the essence of the character.
A lot of the time I get obsessed by little nerdy things in my corner that no one else is interested in. I have that nerd factor in my character.
William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time, and as a fan, I want to make sure that I do him justice.
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.
Well first of all, it's hard to shoot a movie and break for a long time and then come back and do, in a sense, one of the biggest scenes that each character had.
I don't think they knew exactly where they were going with the character, but they lay those stories out ahead of time, so they had some idea where they wanted it to go.
The Doctor' is the kind of character - because the guest cast is changing all the time, there are very few constants in the show, so the 'Doctor'- when you're there, you're in it a lot. You're speaking a lot.
I like spending a lot of time fine-tuning all the small characters. I think it really pays off.
'Anchorman' is my favorite movie of all time and Ron Burgundy is one of my favorite characters of all time. It's my 'Gone With the Wind.'
I'm not the kind of player to see out my time and sit with my bum on the bench too much. I want to be involved. That's my character.
I take my time to get into the mindset of the character and say my lines. I really have to be the person that I am playing.
I just like to switch things up all the time. Like when it comes to singing, I try to find a different character for each song.
I'm a vagabond. I have a suitcase that is ready to go at a moment's notice. The thought of being in one place for a long time, or playing one character for a long time, is terrifying for me.
It's an interesting opportunity to do a long-form character and really have the time to find the nuance over an extended period of time. You can really dig deep.
Going to Nashville to meet the in-laws was the first time when I'd been in America and not been seen as some sort of eccentric character with a cute accent.
I found my niche as a character actor, and I've never felt like a movie star or teen idol and never wanted to.
If my characters travel somewhere, I generally write about a place I know to give the scenes more authenticity.
David was the kind of guy who was totally supportive of the actors and instructed the writing staff to trust the actor's instincts, since after all, it's the actors playing the character.
The way I navigate scenes is through what I perceive to be the emotional truth of the character: what he wants from moment to moment.
Fame is what you have taken, character is what you give; when to this truth you waken then you begin to live.
