Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
A man's work and the conditions under which it is performed are tremendous factors in determining his character.
Fortunately and unfortunately, people don't see me as a character actor. They see me as a leading man or nothing, which makes it really hard to get work.
To me, the psychology behind the character is critical. So I work very hard to get into the mind of the man that I'm going to be playing, because number one, I want to understand why he's doing what he's doing. It's essential, it's absolutely essential.
To build a character like Henry Warnimont required a few weeks and months of work. It turned out he was basically a very kind and generous man, which he covered up with his surface gruffness and surface bluster. And the kind of hopeless quality, that 'everything goes wrong' kind of thing.
When I work with a character like Valjean on stage, I get totally absorbed in that man. I become that man. But there's always, outside of that, the third eye, which watches what you're doing. And you can say to yourself, 'I'm crying well' or 'I'm being angry well.' But there's always that element there, and it never stops.