I have the confidence that I can take anybody and have them give a good performance, because I don't think there's anything to acting except expressing, being able to converse. So if I can just convince somebody not to clean themselves up, and not to be someone that they're not, and just be what they are in given circumstances, that's all that acting is to me, and I don't think it's very difficult.
John CassavetesFilms today show only a dream world and have lost touch with the way people really are... In this country, people die at 21. They die emotionally at 21, maybe younger... My responsibility as an artist is to help people get past 21... The films are a roadmap through emotional and intellectual terrain that provides a solution on how to save pain.
John CassavetesYou can defeat fear through humor, through pain, through honesty, bravery, intuition, and through love in the truest sense.
John CassavetesDuring the actual filming, Iโm not really listening to dialogue. Iโm watching to see if the actors are communicating something and expressing something. Iโm just watching a conversation. Youโre not aware of exactly what people are saying. You are aware of what they are INTENDING and what kind of feeling is going on in that scene.
John CassavetesMost people don't know what they want or feel. And for everyone, myself included, It's very difficult to say what you mean when what you mean is painful. The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to... As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be bad - to be willing to risk everything to really express it all.
John Cassavetes