Actors on Acting Archives

Robert Patrick on Becoming an Actor: “The guys who make it to the major leagues are not there because they are lucky”

I can’t help it — even though it was over twenty years ago now since the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, whenever I see Robert Patrick on screen I end up thinking of him as the T-1000. Though I don’t think he minds that one bit, Patrick has had a lot of great roles since then, and he is his usual stoic self as the General Manager for the Atlanta Braves in Trouble with the Curve, which stars Clint Eastwood.

Jake Gyllenhaal talks ‘End of Watch’, Preparation and Choosing His Roles: “I am interested in anything that has a heart to it”

Jake Gyllenhaal took his role as a police officer in End of Watch extremely seriously, getting hands-on training and experience for his part.
Gyllenhaal shot his own scenes with a handheld camera every day for the first person point-of-view for the film. “We went on ride-alongs for five months, two to three times a week with the LAPD and sheriff’s department and Inglewood PD,” the actor told Moviefone.

Clint Eastwood: “Acting gets in your blood after so many years, and you just always like revisiting it”

There have been numerous actors who have turned to directing (such as recent convert Ben Affleck), but none of them have quite as impressive of a resume as Clint Eastwood, who for decades has been praised for both his acting and his directing and is one of the very few in the industry who can be undoubtedly labeled “iconic.”

Claire Danes on Turning Down a Role at 12 and Doing Research for Her ‘Homeland’ Character on YouTube

Claire Danes is up for an Emmy for her role on the Showtime drama Homeland. The actress has already enjoyed a long career, including playing teenager Angela Chase on the much-beloved series My So-Called Life and winning a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Temple Grandin.

Amy Adams talks about the research she did for ‘The Master’

In her career, Amy Adams takes on completely varied roles, jumping between comedy (Julie and Julia) and drama easily. Her newest role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master required Adams to color in her own back story as the wife of a Scientology-like religious leader.

Anthony Mackie on Bulking Up to Play The Falcon in ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’

Anthony Mackie will soon join the growing pantheon of actors who have played superheroes. The actor, best known for his roles in The Hurt Locker and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will appear as Falcon in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The person most excited for Mackie to portray Marvel’s first black superhero? His brother.

End of Watch’s Michael Pena on growing up in the “ghetto” and how Hollywood is getting diversity

Michael Pena thinks Hollywood is finally starting to diversify. The Latino actor was cast alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the cop drama End of Watch.

Stop Asking Paul Rudd Why He’s Doing Theater

Paul Rudd is best known for his comedic roles in films like Our Idiot Brother, I Love You, Man, and Knocked Up. But his next part is a huge departure—he’ll be appearing in a Broadway production of the dramatic play, Grace.

Dredd’s Karl Urban talks acting inside the helmet: “You have to look at all the other tools that are available to you” (video)

Karl Urban is dedicated to avoiding Sylvester Stallone’s work in the original 1995 Judge Dredd.

Josh Radnor on the Future of ‘How I Met Your Mother’

Josh Radnor was able to take some time away from his sitcom How I Met Your Mother to make the indie Liberal Arts with Elizabeth Olsen. The movie was a well-earned break from the show Radnor jokes has been on the air for “117 years.”

“You can’t get all ramped up and amped up about this thing,” Bill Murray said on talk of getting an Oscar Nomination for ‘Hyde Park on the Hudson’

Bill Murray isn’t likely to be the first actor that pops into your head when you think of someone to play beloved President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But the comedian is already earning Oscar talk about his portrayal in Hyde Park on the Hudson.

Colin Farrell on His New Film, ‘Seven Psychopaths’ and Acting in “Coffee Table Scenes”

Colin Farrell has teamed up with director Martin McDonagh for another film, Seven Psychopaths, after the success of their first project together, In Bruges. The film is a dark comedy, but is much different from his role in Horrible Bosses.

Joaquin Phoenix on ‘The Master’, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Acting: “It’s a process I don’t completely understand. I don’t know that I want to”

Joaquin Phoenix is known for going Method-deep into his roles even going so far as to appear as “himself” on Late Show with David Letterman a few years ago. Now, he’s taken on another seriously dark part in Paul Thomas Anderson’s take on a Scientology-like religion in The Master.

Mandy Patinkin talks ‘Homeland’ and the Reason He Left ‘Criminal Minds’

Mandy Patinkin isn’t holding back his opinion about his time on the CBS drama, Criminal Minds.

Emma Watson on ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ Playing a Typical Teenager and Using an American Accent (video)

Most teenagers have a pretty similar experience—dating, high school, prom. But most teenagers didn’t grow up spending their time on one of the most successful movie sets of all time. Emma Watson started playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series when she was just 9-years-old, thus eliminating the possibility of a normal high school experience. So the British actress jumped at the chance to portray a typical teenager in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Ben Affleck Talks About Directing and The Lowest Points of His Acting Career: “I made a bunch of movies that didn’t work”

It wasn’t too long ago that I looked at new Ben Affleck movies like trips to the dentist, especially the parts involving the dentist painfully picking at my gums. After excellent roles in films like Dazed and Confused, Chasing Amy, and, of course, Good Will Hunting (which he co-wrote) in the 1990s, the new millennium brought with it a string of films starring Affleck that ranged from inoffensively mediocre to reaching new levels of awfulness. But Affleck successfully taped into his Good Will Hunting creative energy to direct Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo, three films that have received strong critical praise (he also co-wrote the first two).

Ed O’Neill Might Have Wound Up in the Mob If It Wasn’t For Acting

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Modern Family co-star Ed O’Neill reveals where he might have been headed if he didn’t get into acting… and it’s a bit surprising.

Naomi Watts on Filming Tsunami Scenes in ‘The Impossible’: “It was intense work. For anyone, but at my age, boy, it was a workout”

One would think that after being manhandled (apehandled?) by a giant gorilla in King Kong an actress could pretty much pull off any physical role. But Naomi Watts, who stars in The Impossible, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, had to fend with far more than a digital gorilla since much of the film takes place during a tsunami in Thailand.

Seth Rogen on His ‘For A Good Time Call’ Cameo

Seth Rogen has probably set the bar of good taste back a few dozen yards in his films, but believe it or not even he has limits. He actually ended up crossing one of those lines in his cameo in For a Good Time Call…

Bobby Cannavale: “All I ever wanted to do is to be a working New York actor”

Bobby Cannavale is pretty much everywhere right now. He just finished a run on Nurse Jackie, he currently has a role on Boardwalk Empire, and he will be starring in the upcoming Broadway production of Glengarry Glen Ross.