I really don't want to go to work every day convincing myself of what I'm saying. I want the material to make me a better actor; then I try to return the favor to the material.

Experience tells us that whereas that degree of recognition can happen for one or two actors, for the vast majority it doesn't, so what matters is to try and be a better actor.

I just did something on a show on UPN called 'Girlfriends' that will be on television in February. I am actually a much better actor today than I was in 1996, believe it or not.

There is a saying that every single person in the world has something to teach you. So the more people I get to work with, the more I can learn, and the better actor I will become.

Never equate yourself with whatever success may be and how fleeting that is. The only thing you can do every day is become a better actor. That's the only thing I have control over.

I maintain that if you're a novelist and you go into an art museum, you'll come out a better novelist. And if you paint a picture for an hour you're a better actor at the end of it.

How do you find a better actor than Michael McKean? How do you find someone who's just that good? They don't grow on trees. Plus, he's a pleasure to work with, pleasure to be around.

Creative people are very insecure people because they don't know whether people like them or are in awe of them. That insecurity always comes out. It makes them a better actor, I feel.

When we worked together for 'Band Baaja Baaraat,' Ranveer used to be very anxious and hyper on set. He used to do weird things, but now he is calmer, less anxious. He's a better actor now.

I have had some great co-actors to work with like Richa Chadha, Taapsee Pannu and Alia Bhatt. I really value these big co-stars because if they are in sync with you, it makes you a better actor.

I've done some awful auditions, and I've really done some horrible work, but it forced me to flex those muscles, and that's what makes you a better actor, just doing bad work and seeing what looks bad and growing from it.

Directing myself definitely made me a better actor. And, you know, I think actors have the best track record when they turn to directing. Writers, too. I knew how to direct actors because I've been there and I know what I like.

I think the guy who has had the better films is Will Smith. I don't know if he's a better actor than me. I don't think so. I am a rapper first. Man, I just love what I do. I am just the greatest and I can't help it. I'm sorry man.

My journey has been beautiful, more than what I could ask for. Of course there have been ups and downs but I've been fortunate and grateful for this journey. It has taught me a lot, I've grown, become a better actor and a human being.

While you can be trained and groomed to be a better actor, seasoning happens only to TV actors. TV actors shoot every day, and that makes a difference to the project. They are hard-working, but that's not taking anything away from the film actors.

I become a better actor after I step on a stage in front of, like, 500 people when it's just me, a microphone and my guitar. You don't get as nervous walking into a room in front of 3 or 4 people and to do a scene or to walk on a set. You gain confidence.

I like working fast, but I got to the age where the real difference between television and the movies is, I'm not smart enough to be in the movies. It's a very political world. In all modesty, I can say that I'm a much better actor, but that doesn't matter.

I always thought on my own that what is a huge part of being an actor, or what made me a better actor, was just really living life. Not being closed in on life, but being more open to experiences and to people and taking risks and exposing yourself to things.

People say to me, 'Oh, being a mother must make you a better actor,' and I think, 'Well, I never sleep, I have very little time to think about anything except when I'm actually there.' I wonder whether that makes me a better actor. I think it must on some level.

I don't like improv at all. It terrifies me. I like to know exactly what I'm going to say. Being surprised does make me a better actor. Anytime I'm afraid of something that makes me rise to the occasion, it scares me, but it's what makes great actors - being in the moment.

I was certainly a better actor after my five years in Hollywood. I had learned to be natural - never to exaggerate. I found I could act on the stage in just the same way as I had acted in a studio: using my ordinary voice, eliminating gestures, keeping everything extremely simple.

My brother Ryan was on the Disney XD show 'Pair of Kings' where he played Lanny, the evil cousin to twin kings, for three seasons. His motivation to be a better actor always pushes me to work harder and try to be more like him. When he gets a role, he will study that character until he becomes that person.

I've had a couple opportunities where I've been on the other side of the audition process as a director, so it's really reassuring to me that it's just about who is right for that role and less about if you ace the audition. It's just about getting to know people, not about who's a better actor a lot of the time.

I directed my first music video for Sara Bareilles. I like writing and directing. I co-wrote '21 Jump Street' and I'm in that. To me, they all inform the other one. I think writing makes you a better actor, acting makes you a better writer, directing makes you better at both. To me, I'm just trying to learn as much as possible.

What I'm doing is making sure that I have a balance, and that allows me, I think, to be a better actor and to more easily and quickly access all of the emotions on the scale. I make sure that I read a book on the weekend or read something or do my knitting or do the things that I need to do for myself, like 'Game of Thrones.' Get that balance.

They have a good ethos at Guildhall in that they basically throw loads of different things at you. Their theory is that after you leave, if you use 10 of those 100 things, that's great. The other 90, you might not agree with or might not work for you as an actor. But if you can find 10 that work for you, then ultimately you leave as a better actor.

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