Character Quotes - Page 437

I love playing characters who are opposite of who I am.

When you graduate is when you start to find yourself looking at the information in the audition breakdown and it says tall black African - or African-American built such and such. And you start seeing these character descriptions and seeing that, oh, you're only going in for the ones that are described as your look.

I got into [acting] so late because of sports. And then when I was in grad school, I sort of got lulled into basically forgetting I was black, in - meaning that everyone you play at a conservatory, 95 percent of the characters are non-black.

My connection to music is so strong. I cling to it. I vibe out to it. I release stress to it. Music is really always close to me. It's really present in my work in terms of how I relate to characters is through rhythm and sound, even in their speech.

A vow imparts stability, ballast and firmness to one's character.

Sorrow and suffering make for character if they are voluntarily borne, but not if they are imposed.

Your character must be above suspicion and you must be truthful and self-controlled.

A dissolute character is more dissolute in thought than in deed. And the same is true of violence. Our violence in word and deed is but a feeble echo of the surging violence of thought in us.

Character alone will have real effect on the masses.

A man of character will make himself worthy of any position he is given.

As a splendid palace deserted by its inmates looks like a ruin, so does a man without character, all his material belongings notwithstanding.

Men of stainless character and self purification will easily inspire confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around them.

The real property that a parent can transmit to all equally is his or her character and educational facilities.

No religion which is narrow and which cannot satisfy the test of reason, will survive the coming reconstruction of society in which the values will have changed and character, not possession of wealth, title or birth, will be the test of merit.

A man of feeble character resembles a reed that bends with every gust of wind.

Ive always enjoyed the teen angst thing. I had a lot of teen angst as I was growing up, so I think I have a lot to say about it through characters before I have to move on.

Luckily, I have been offered the chance to play a South American, Hispanic and even a character from the Middle East in films. There are also a lot of TV series in the U.S. that have a strong presence of actors from India.

I'd be happy to play anyone's girlfriend. I'm happy to be working, ever. It's not an intentional thing to play these messed up, crazy characters, but I'm happy to do it 'cause someone's got to.

Certain roles, I just won't invest in. I'll go in and audition, but I might not spend five hours trying to figure out what the character is really about or go so deep into it. I might just learn the lines and go in and try my best because I know it's not safe for me to love the character or to fall in love with the idea of the role.

I genuinely liked all of the cast members very much. Steve had a wicked sense of humor. I remember Russell coming to my rescue, once. I watched Eric evolve before everyone's eyes. Maurice loved what he did, so. He treated his character with respect, down to the costuming.

The degree of talent, the size of the gift, is immaterial. All artists must listen, but not all hear great symphonies, see wide canvasses, conceive complex, character-filled novels. No matter, the creative act is the same, and it is an act of faith.

Reading is a creative activity. You have to visualize the characters, you have to hear what the voices sound like.

In the final exam in the Chaucer course we were asked why he used certain verbal devices, certain adjectives, why he had certain characters behave in certain ways. And I wrote, 'I don't think Chaucer had any idea why he did any of these things. That isn't the way people write.' I believe this as strongly now as I did then. Most of what is best in writing isn't done deliberately.

There is little character or loveliness in the face of someone who has shunned risk, avoided suffering and rejected life

The deeper and richer a personality is, the more full it is of paradox and contradiction. It is only a shallow character who offers us no problems of contrast.