Stanislavski Quotes

• The "magic if" is a tool invented by Stanislavski, the father of acting craft, is to help an actor make appropriate choices. Essentially, the "magic if" refers to the answer to the question, "What would I do if I were this character in this situation?" Note that the question is not "What would I do if I were in this situation?" What you would do may be very different from what the character would do. Your job, based on your analysis of the script, the scene, and the given circumstances regarding the who of your character, is to decide what he or she would do.

  Bruce Miller

  Jobs, Father, Character

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• Stanislavski was right, you can find fresh pain every time you discover what you pretty much already know.

  Chuck Palahniuk

  Pain, Knows

  Chuck Palahniuk (2003). “Diary: A Novel”, Doubleday Books

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• My mentor Jon Simmons introduced me to the Stanislavski system, which is so heavy on back-story. So you write and write and write these back stories about a character and then you throw it away. So then on set, if it doesn't come, then you didn't do your work.

  Chris Zylka

  Writing, Character, Mentor

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• I played Lucky in Waiting for Godot at Yale and it was a thing that Stanislavski talks about: he says you don't need his 'method' if you can count on your inspiration and it was a moment of inspiration that came to me, not in rehearsal but on stage. It hit me right there in the middle of the play and it was great - it travelled into immediate communication.

  Sam Waterston

  Communication, Inspiration, Yale

  "New Again: Sam Waterston". Interview with Martin Torgoff, www.interviewmagazine.com. May 27, 2015.

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• I do the best I can - I know my way around [Russian method acting pioneer] Stanislavski, but I can't take myself seriously like that. I respect people who do it, of course. I just think I'm lucky to still be working at 73. You reach a point in life where you just think, "Show up, do your job, make sure the cheque's on the way," and that's it. I'm not hungry to do anything more, really.

  Anthony Hopkins

  Jobs, Thinking, People

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• It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought you, at the age of 12 or 13, could have a better understanding of Stanislavski. Why did you think that you didn't need to go to school?" It was quite funny. But, I was certainly inspired.

  Giles Matthey

  School, Thinking, Understanding

  Source: collider.com

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• My advice to any actor who's playing, quote, unquote, "extra" to think of it more like Stanislavski did. It's not a small part. You are the lead in the movie, in your own movie.

  Harvey Keitel

  Thinking, Advice, Actors

  "Moment Of Truth In 'Youth' Hits Home For Actor Harvey Keitel". "Weekend Edition Saturday" with Scott Simon, www.npr.org. December 5, 2015.

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