Acting is about giving something away, handing yourself over to whatever role you are asked to play. I'm not hiding or escaping or seeking anonymity. I reserve the right not to have a rubber stamp on my forehead saying this is who I am. Because who I am gets in the way of people looking innocently at the parts I play.
Alan RickmanYou know, London is so sprawling, and you can sometimes forget that anybody else is on a stage anywhere else.
Alan RickmanThe difference between being an actor and a director is simple. The director has to hide his panic; the actor doesn't.
Alan RickmanOriginally, theater was my life. It was what I assumed I'd spend my working life doing - if I was lucky. Then along came movies.
Alan RickmanThose of you who are not aware of my brilliant career as a stand up comic, I'm not aware of it either so we might well wonder what we're doing here.
Alan RickmanCertainly as actors, and maybe as directors, you've got to hang on to something childlike. You've got to know what play is. I haven't worked with Mike Leigh, but I know him very well and there's something open in his eyes about what's in front of him. And the same is true of Alfonso in a Mexican, mad way. There's an enthusiastic response to something. Neil Jordan, the same, when he gets excited . You just want to know there's a human being in there.
Alan Rickman