I don't get into these long-winded heavy discussions about character - do we do this or that or what. At the end of the day, what you gotta do is just go out there and do it.
— Robert De Niro
You never know what you do that could be totally out of left field, which actually might work and give something fresh to the whole scene, to the character, whatever. If you have that with a director who then knows how to shape it, either in the direction, in the moment, or in the editing, then that's good.
With 'Silver Linings,' I didn't feel - I was thinking of certain things, but I just said, 'Let me go with it.' You have to know what you're doing, where you're going with the scenes, and I put a lot of work into that. But when you're out there, at the same time you gotta be ready for anything.
Good directors can bring certain things out of you, with their intensity or gentleness or sensitivity or understanding. They can make an actor feel he can do no wrong.
I always go back to how people behave. If you watch how people actually behave in a situation, it's very simple and honest and contained. You don't need to use as much expression, as much feeling. Some characters will boil over, and that's another thing, but a lot of times I think you can just do very, very little.
Movies are hard work. The public doesn't see that. The critics don't see it. But they're a lot of work. A lot of work.
Money makes your life easier. If you're lucky to have it, you're lucky.
When I was 15, 16, I studied with Stella Adler at the Conservatory of Acting, then I stopped again and went to the Actors Studio when I was 18.
I mean, the actors that I admired were Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, an actress named Barbara Harris. And Greta Garbo. They were great actors.
My definition of a good hotel is a place I'd stay at.
I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, 'There's no place like New York. It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it.'
When you make a drama, you spend all day beating a guy to death with a hammer, or what have you. Or, you have to take a bite out of somebody's face. On the other hand, with a comedy, you yell at Billy Crystal for an hour, and you go home.
I don't like to watch my own movies - I fall asleep in my own movies.
There is a certain combination of anarchy and discipline in the way I work.
I have so much respect for directors. It's a tremendous amount of pressure; you have to keep steadfast and keep what you know is right.
I'm lucky that I have whatever I had that makes me have a successful career, if you will.
I like to visit L.A., but I wouldn't want to live there.
I think it's important to have had at least a few years of obscurity, where people treat you like everybody else.
If it's a very emotional scene, you're kind of relieved when you've done it, kind of spent. And there are times when you can be rattled, certain characters if they're hyper, that can carry over, the residue of that. But I try to leave it on the set.
The hardest thing about being famous is that people are always nice to you.
I'll work with a director if I think I'm going to get into a comfortable situation, and if it's someone I respect and who respects me, even if they're not so well known. Movies are hard to make, and you have to work toward a common ethic and do your best.
My mother worked for a woman, Maria Ley-Piscator, who with her husband founded the Dramatic Workshop, which was connected to the New School. My mother did proofreading and typing and stuff or her, and as part of her payment, I was able to take acting classes there on Saturdays when I was 10.
Italy has changed. But Rome is Rome.
If it's the right chair, it doesn't take too long to get comfortable in it.
I've never been one of those actors who has touted myself as a fascinating human being. I had to decide early on whether I was to be an actor or a personality.
It's important not to indicate. People don't try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.
There's nothing more ironic or contradictory than life itself.
You'll have time to rest when you're dead.
I'm not a big football person at all.
The director respects what they've hired you for and chosen you for: to do the part and respect what you're doing.
In acting, I always try to go back to what would actually be the real situation, the real human behavior in life.
Time goes on. So whatever you're going to do, do it. Do it now. Don't wait.
You draw on whatever's relevant to the part you're playing; it makes it more personal.
I didn't have a problem with rejection, because when you go into an audition, you're rejected already. There are hundreds of other actors. You're behind the eight ball when you go in there.
I love to find new people. It's not for the sake of their being new; it's because if you find someone who perfectly fits a part, that's such a great thing.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a very serious young actor.
I always tell actors when they go in for an audition: Don't be afraid to do what your instincts tell you. You may not get the part, but people will take notice.
I spent lunchtime in a grave during the filming of 'Bloody Mama.' When you're younger, you feel that's what you need to do to help you stay in character. When you get older, you become more confident and less intense about it - and you can achieve the same effect.
I think Hollywood has a class system. The actors are like the inmates, but the truth is they're running the asylum.
The talent is in the choices.
You learned the two greatest thing in life, never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.
One of the things about acting is it allows you to live other people's lives without having to pay the price.
