"I tend to have an odd split in my mind: I tend to look at it as a writer and when the writing thing is OK and I'm happy with it, then I put on my actor's hat."

Actor, Writer, Writing

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"I tend to have an odd split in my mind: I tend to look at it as a writer and when the writing thing is OK and I'm happy with it, then I put on my actor's hat."

Exlpore more Actor quotes

"For a child actor, it's a matter of listening, reacting, and being able to put yourself in a new place without being scared."

Jena Malone, American Actress

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"The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years."

Michael Caine, English Actor

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"Directors, like actors, get typecast."

John Landis, American Actor

Actor, Actors

"To my way of thinking, an actor's course is set even before he's out of the cradle."

James Dean, American Actor

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"Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done."

James Dean, American Actor

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"We've had no problems with the actors, but we keep a really loose set."

Peter Farrelly, American Director

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"Being a working actor, you're going to do a Spelling show. It's hard not to."

Casper Van Dien, American Actor

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"Actors are able to trick themselves into treating anything as if it's fantastic. It's a kind of madness really."

Tom Baker, British Actor

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"I had read the novel and I had heard David Lean was going to direct it - and it came as a surprise to me because American actors, if given the chance, can do style as well as anybody and speak as well as anybody."

Rod Steiger, American Actor

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"I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

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Explore more quotes by John Cleese

"Comedy always works best when it is mean-spirited."

Comedy

"I was very sad to hear of the death of Ronnie Barker, who was such a warm, friendly and encouraging presence to have when I started in television. He was also a great comic actor to learn from."

Death

"If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth."

Truth

"Who's ever going to write a film in which I get the girl? Me!"

Film

"But then acting is all about faking. We're all very good at faking things that we have no competence with."

Acting

"I want to write a book which is the history of comedy."

History

"The thrill I got discovering Buster Keaton when I was growing up was so exciting. He was one of the greats."

Growing up

"I can't tell you how scary it can be walking onto a movie and suddenly joining this family, it's like going to somebody else's Christmas dinner, everyone knows everyone, and you're there and you're not quite sure what you're supposed to be doing."

Family

"When the target audience is American teenage kids, you can have problems. My generation prized really fine acting and writing. Sometimes you have to go back to the basic principles which underpin great visual comedy."

Acting

"If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play."

Time