I don't want actors reasoning with me about 'motivation' and all that bull.

Jason Robards

Categorized in : Me About Want Motivation

I finally realize that I have earned my happiness and what little success I have. And I'm not guilty about it any more. It just happened one day. It just came out.

realize day success happiness

Eugene O'Neil is always exploring our want to love but can't get it out there.

to-love always want love

I almost failed one drama course. All the actors talked in phony accents. It shocked me. I went out for track instead.

failed out me drama

When you act, you take on the attitudes and the emotions of others. There has to be a release. Most often done in conviviality. That's why there are clubs like the Players, the Friars - in London, the Garrick.

emotions like you done

I've always wanted to be part of a family.

part always family wanted

To be true to a play, you can't add something that takes away from the author's intent.

true something you play

Any actor worth his salt is looking for truth, the core of truth of the particular situation he is portraying, of that play. The playwright, the actors and the audience, that's what we're all there seeking. When it's working, time is destroyed. Sometimes 'Moon,' a play of four hours, would go by in a snap of the fingers.

looking moon truth time

As a baseball player, you know the commodity you're selling, but with acting, you wonder, 'What the hell am I doing that is so hot?'

know you hell hot

I had a choice whether to live or die, and I chose to live.

had live die choice

It's 90 percent rejection, being an actor.

actor being percent rejection

We grow each day or don't grow. Go the other way. We're a different person all the time. The human being is something happening differently every day. That's the challenge of doing a play: using your instrument to learn and to pull out these things.

challenge grow day time

I always wanted to act. To be with my friends. To share something with the audience about the human condition.

human something always friends

Once you're on, nobody can say, 'Cut it.' You're out there on your own, and there's always that thrill of a real live audience.

live nobody you real

The theater has kept me alive, and it's allowed me to work at my craft.

craft me alive work

An actor doesn't change thought, theme, or mood unless the character does, and the character only does it within the words of the play.

words mood change character

It's part of an actor's equipment to project a voice.

actor project equipment voice

Projection of sound gives the stage a life different from real life. As actors and interpretive artists, we must not only be able to know the attitude of the script, we must also make ourselves heard - without amplification.

know real attitude life

Theater is about life, not about television or movies.

movies about life television

'Iceman' covers a bigger scope than 'Long Day's Journey.' But they're both fabulous pieces of work. 'Iceman' is like a symphony. It's got all the movements, all these different voices. 'Long Day's Journey' is more like a beautiful string quartet.

day journey work beautiful

I was a radioman first class in the Navy. I put in seven years. I was around a lot of admirals; I served on destroyers, cruisers, and a flat top for a little while.

first top navy class