There's an exercise we do where someone is sat behind you and you're asked to close your eyes and fall backwards. That's acting.

I like working with directors because I'm really opinionated about what things work and may not work, what audiences like and may not like, (not really) but I do have opinions about things. I like to be able to say them and then have them acted on. The director who responds to me like that, always gets my appreciation. I do appreciate it. What I find is the best directors, no matter what kind of name they have, are like that.

Still, it can be more effective to accomplish what you need to accomplish with the minimum effort. Watch Anthony Hopkins. He doesn't appear to be doing anything. He is so still that you can't see him working, but you are drawn into his character through his very stillness.

Actors cannot work against each other. It's totally impossible.

That's your job as the actor, to understand the human part of the character, to make it real.

Everybody works the same, but the preparation very often may be different. You cannot work differently. You have to say the words that were written on the page, and you have to make your marks. That's the work.

If you're not living on the edge then you're taking up a little too much space.