Acting in theatre or television or screen is only for the irrecoverably diseased, those so smitten with the need that there is no choice.

Creating relationship is the heart of acting. It is basic. It is essential.

There's only one reason why a character drinks: to seek confrontation. To fight for what they want in ways normally denied them.

Competition is healthy. Competition is life. Yet most actors refuse to acknowledge this. They don't want to compete. They want to get along. And they are therefore not first-rate actors. The good actor is the one who competes, willingly, who enjoys competing. An actor must compete, or die...Peacefulness and the avoidance of trouble won't help in his acting. It is just the opposite he must seek.

An actor is looking for conflict. Conflict is what creates drama. We are taught to avoid trouble [so] actors don't realize they must go looking for it. Plays are written about...the extraordinary, the unusual, the climaxes. The more conflict actors find, the more interesting the performance.

An expression of feeling isn't worth anything unless it interferes with what the other actor in the scene wants.

That's why there's so little romance in our world now: everyone thinks romance is weak.