"It's tough. It's very tricky to throw a morally flexible character onto the screen and have an audience empathize. It's always an exercise in restraint."
Read quote
3 likes
Character quotes
Character
14.8K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Topics related to Character
Browse quotes that often appear alongside character — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Character quotes (page 138 of 739)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Character acting is a much braver pursuit than a guy who runs around and intermittently clenches his jaw muscles."
Read quote
3 likes
"The secret to writing sound effects is having a room you can be alone in, trying to make the sounds yourself, and seeing what comes out. It's similar to if you're writing a character talking with their mouth full: the only way I know to transcribe that is to stuff my fist in my mouth and write down what sounds I make when I try to talk."
Read quote
3 likes
"You cannot have your news instantly and have it done well. You cannot have your news reduced to 140 characters or less without losing large parts of it. You cannot manipulate the news but not expect it to be manipulated against you. You cannot have your news for free; you can only obscure the costs. If as a culture we can learn this lesson, and if we can learn to love the hard work, we will save ourselves much trouble and collateral damage. We must remember: There is no easy way."
Read quote
3 likes
"Does not the possibility or the power to do something about the situation at hand confer on one the responsibility to do it?"
Read quote
3 likes
"There is no authentic inner freedom that does not, sooner or later, also affect and change human history."
Read quote
3 likes
"Reputation is what people expect us to do next. It's their expectation of the quality and character of the next thing we produce or say or do. We control our actions (even when it feels like we don't) and our actions over time (especially when we think no one is looking) earn our reputation."
Read quote
3 likes
"As an actor, I've learned to become a detective. You have to figure out who that person is. If the character is a thief, you have to figure out what makes them a thief. Whatever the prevailing idiosyncrasy is, I have to find it in the script."
Read quote
3 likes
"Every character I get to play has some element of who I am, but there's no fun in playing yourself. At least, for me, there isn't."
Read quote
3 likes
"When I was younger, I wanted to guard myself against criticism, so I did so much more work than was needed. Now, though, it's sometimes better to understand something intuitively than have to dig your way into a character."
Read quote
3 likes
"One of the reasons they [the Japanese] have bad eyesight is probably these microscopic characters [furigana] which have many lines and strokes to them.& We wonder why they went mad and bombed Pearl Harbor when they knew they couldn't win. That [the Japanese language] would be a reason."
Read quote
3 likes
"I enjoy it all: performIng, doing TV, movies, comedy, drama, stand-up, animation voicework, singing, but you get that instant gratification from stand-up because it's your own commentary and you get to see the reaction from the audience that's right there in front of you. I also love coming up with characters and watching people embrace them and enjoy them."
Read quote
3 likes
"I am willing to compete on my merits and on my character - not with the color of my skin. We talk about being a color-blind society, but I don't think the political process could actually handle that."
Read quote
3 likes
"To say America can have strong leadership without strong character is to say we can get water without the wet."
Read quote
3 likes
"You can't take yourself too seriously. Like, yeah, I'm doin' all that, but still I don't feel like I've done anything, really. I feel blessed 'cause I'm doin' all these things, but I'm not satisfied. I still have that feeling like, "Who am I? Who am I to have an ego? Who am I to change up and act like some Hollywood character?" Technically, in the grand scheme of things, I haven't done anything."
Read quote
3 likes
"I'm beginning to feel that no author has the right to tear his characters apart if he doesn't know how, or feel that he knows how (poor sucker) to put them together again. I'm tired—my God, so tired—of leaving them all broken on the page with just 'The End' written underneath."
Read quote
3 likes
"I can write anywhere. I made up the names of the characters on a sick bag while I was on an airplane. I told this to a group of kids and a boy said, "Ah, no, that's disgusting." And I said, "Well, I hadn't used the sick bag.""
Read quote
3 likes
"I imagine them very clearly and then attempt to describe what I can see. Sometimes I draw them for my own amusement! (talking about her characters and scenes)"
Read quote
3 likes
"I love inventing names, but I also collect unusual names, so that I can look through my notebook and choose one that suits a new character."
Read quote
3 likes
"My readers have to work with me to create the experience. They have to bring their imaginations to the story. No one sees a book in the same way, no one sees the characters the same way. As a reader you imagine them in your own mind. So, together, as author and reader, we have both created the story."
Read quote
3 likes