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

Most actors make themselves unhappy by searching for their sanity, by insisting on their normalcy; it's a grave mistake.

Consistency is the death of good acting.

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.

Conflict is what creates drama. The more conflict actors find, the more interesting the performance.

Listening is not merely hearing, it is receiving the message that is being sent to you. Listening is reacting. Listening is being affected by what you hear. Listening is letting it land before you react. Listening is letting your reaction make a difference. Listening is active.

Whatever you decide is your motivation in the scene, the opposite of that is also true and should be in it.