An actor cannot play boredom or he will be boring. He must find what it is that the character wants instead of the boring condition he’s in, and he must fight for that. I use the word fight because the actor must find the strongest, most positive goal possible. Nothing less will do.
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Humor is not being funny. It is the coin of exchange between human beings that makes it possible for us to get through the day . . . . One would sometimes think actors are trying to reverse the life process by what they do onstage. They take humor out instead of put it in. That’s what makes acting unlifelike.