A trap, like a good story, needs to hint at greater things without revealing them until the prey is snared.
Stories may well be lies, but they are good lies that say true things, and which can sometimes pay the rent.
I wouldn't go out of my way to experience the indignity of middle-age just because it might be good meat for a story.
What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story. And the greatest good is little enough; for all life is a dream, and dreams themselves are only dreams.
I've been acting since second grade, telling stories, making my parents laugh here and there, so I'm hoping my 'thing' is acting. But I also make a really good bread pudding.
From earliest times, humans - explorers and thinkers - have wanted to figure out the shape of their world. Forever, the way we've done that is through storytelling. It is difficult to let the truth get in the way of a good story.
More and more good actors are now transmigrating into the videogame space and playing roles there because it's where my generation of kids get stories from.
I started out doing music videos and photography, and I always loved writing. Filmmaking seemed to be a good compilation of all these skills in a way that allowed me to tell a story 'greater than the sum of its parts.'
I think there's always satisfaction that comes from digging in and telling a story and being on the front line and writing about it. I think there's a venue available if you look. Even print journalism is in good shape in areas.
Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. I was brought up in a house of women.
I think every good song tells a story, as ambiguous and vague as it may be. And if you know what a song is talking about, it can only help your performance.
Yes, in all my research, the greatest leaders looked inward and were able to tell a good story with authenticity and passion.
It is the consistency of the information that matters for a good story, not its completeness. Indeed, you will often find that knowing little makes it easier to fit everything you know into a coherent pattern.
Every day I fantasise about situations and little themes I see in front of me that would make a good beginning of a story. But one has to be disciplined and just sit down and do it.
I still read Hemingway. I still read his short stories because they're so good. He doesn't waste any words.
If I had to choose criteria, for me, it's about first the director. I want to be a part of something that's good and intellectually challenging. After the director it's the character and the story. That's the deal for me.
That's probably when I get the most angry at American movies, when they just so cynically manipulate the audience without even trying to give a good story.
I think my Wallander stories give a fairly good image of the world in the 1990s. I don't regret anything about that - on the contrary!
If you have a good story idea, don't assume it must form a prose narrative. It may work better as a play, a screenplay or a poem. Be flexible.
It is my writing dilemma. The world of spying is my genre. My struggle is to demystify, to de-romanticise the spook world, but at the same time harness it as a good story.
I think sometimes actors are drawn to good television because you have more time to sell it, you have more time to shape a character, and to tell a story, and that's really appealing.
