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" I don't have a preference between theatre and film; I like to do both. But I will say that there's something about theatre that is more nourishing and sustaining than film ever can be. "
Willem Dafoe
Will
Theatre
Say
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" All the time, as an actor, you want to be asking what's next and where things are going. If you're not asking those questions, you're not growing. "
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" When you work on anything, you want to find the range of impulses - which ones get portrayed is another question, but you want to have that complexity and that fullness, even if you're playing a cartoon character. "
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" I think on some level, you do your best things when you're a little off-balance, a little scared. You've got to work from mystery, from wonder, from not knowing. "
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" In my experience, sometimes a movie just hits at the wrong time, gets the wrong press, or gets the wrong representation, and it gets misunderstood. "
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" With theatre, you have to be ready for anything. "
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" Basically, when I hear the words 'family drama,' I run in the opposite direction. "
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" Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to. "
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" I think back story can help guide your choices, but when you're playing a scene, you're not making choices; you're just intuitive. "
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" I love doing action and stuff; the problem is usually action movies are not that interesting. Also as I get older I feel like there's less opportunities for me. "
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" I'm an optimist. I hope if a movie's good that it will be a success, but as we know, that's not always true, just because of popular taste, advertising, distribution patterns - there's lots of reasons. "
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" I set myself challenges every time I work. Ideally, I approach everything as though it's the first time - with a beginner's mind and an amateur's love. "
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" It's true in the beginning I started playing villains, and I think that's pretty clear, because if you don't conventionally look a certain way and you've got a certain kind of presence when you're young, then what's available to you is character roles, and the best character roles when you're young tend to be villains. "
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" Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin. "
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" The best thing an actor can be is ready. Be flexible, be ready. "
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" The director's very important to me, particularly when the director has a recognizable style. "
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" I was born William. My father was William. I came from a big family, I hated being called Billy. Willem's a nickname; it's a Dutch name, very common in the Netherlands. "
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" I knew very little about 'Spider-Man'. I grew up more in the 'Superman' generation. 'Spider-Man' - I didn't know so much. But it is a really successful franchise, and I'm happy to be involved with it. "
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