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Yeah, I made it. It sneaks up on you. You're some schmuck and you wake up one day and you go, Good God, I'm the cheese.
William H. Macy -
What actors are good at doing is walking into a situation that should make you incredibly self-conscious and frightened and doing it anyway. That's the gig, pretending that you are comfortable.
William H. Macy
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To a certain extent. I'm a fan of rehearsal on the day [of the shoot], more than getting together a week beforehand.
William H. Macy -
Sometimes, directors are afraid to stop shooting, because the second you stop and say, "We got it," and move on, you'll never get another chance. And they're terrified to get in the cutting room and not be happy. So they just keep shooting.
William H. Macy -
I'm drawn to a lot of first-time directors. One of the great common denominators in these small independent films is that there's a person, or two people, who have an absolutely monomaniacal passion to get these films made. That's what makes them happen. Sometimes, it takes years and years to finally get it done, but by never backing down, by never giving up, they get these films to the screen by hook or by crook.
William H. Macy -
Shameless is a rough show, and it’s not for everyone, but it’s also beautiful.
William H. Macy -
I got an agent. He said, what do you wanna do, and I said, I want an Oscar nomination. That's your job, that's what I'm paying you for. And I got it.
William H. Macy -
I'm really proud of the writing on Door to Door, and I think that's the Emmy that meant the most - the writing.
William H. Macy
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Stephen King writes a lot of things that are really charming and quirky, and that are more ironic than horror.
William H. Macy -
It was my first impulse, but I chose to play the priest as a true believer who was an absolute man of faith that absolutely supports the church.
William H. Macy -
I introduced myself to Scorsese and I said, "If you need someone to do craft services, I'm there."
William H. Macy -
I feel like a lot of the young actors that are just coming up are really good. I think directors are directing better.
William H. Macy -
I've always felt it's the directors purview to say what; it's the actor's purview to say how. It's not good for an actor to have the big picture in mind - it bollocks you up. An actor's purview is the tiny little... We measure our performance in seconds.
William H. Macy -
I'm a firm believer that character is highly overrated. Character is a trick that we do with the audience's collusion.
William H. Macy
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I'm a big fan of rehearsal. I'm famous for pulling the cast together, not so much to formally rehearse, but just to run the lines. My theory of acting is that it takes all your attention just to stay in the moment, and keep your attention on the other person, and get him to do what you want him to do.
William H. Macy -
When I was in New York, I was making a living. We had a summer house and a car that I could put in a garage. That's something for a stage actor.
William H. Macy -
Many times, I like to read the script before I even know who they want me to play, so I can read it and really enjoy it as an audience member. I think that's given me the ability to ferret out the really special scripts from all the rest.
William H. Macy -
A good director is very well prepared, and knows exactly how he's going to cut the film, so the shooting is as efficient as possible.
William H. Macy -
Directors work 10 times harder than anyone else. Get paid a quarter.
William H. Macy -
All that back-story stuff doesn't help. What you get paid for is to stand toe-to-toe with the other actor and get him to do your will.
William H. Macy
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Our glorification of violence is ripping society apart. I don't want my children exposed to it.
William H. Macy -
Ultimately, a more experienced director realizes that you've got to stop sometime and just move on. They're braver about that.
William H. Macy -
One of the things I did early on in film was over-enunciate and talk too loud.
William H. Macy -
We thought sex was free. Sex is not free. There's a price to be paid emotionally, physically, even legally. Sex isn't a casual thing. It's a huge thing.
William H. Macy