Bad actors try to cry, and good actors try not to. Bad actors try to laugh, and good actors try not to.
Martin LandauRead
Dialogue is what a character's willing to share and reveal to another character, and the 90% they aren't willing to share is what I do for a living.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The essence of dialogue in storytelling lies in what is shared and what remains unspoken, shaping the depth of characters.
In this quote, Martin Landau emphasizes the complexity of character development in storytelling. Dialogue is only a small part of what characters express; the majority of their thoughts, emotions, and motivations remain unspoken. As an actor or screenwriter, understanding and interpreting these hidden elements is crucial for bringing depth and realism to the characters, allowing audiences to engage more fully with their stories.
Themes
DialogueCharactersStorytellingCommunicationDepth
In practice
Example use cases
In a creative writing workshop, when discussing how to develop characters, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of depth.
More from Martin Landau
All quotes βI run the Actor's Studio on the West Coast, and one of the things I say all the time to the people I teach - many of whom are acting teachers - is that an actor needs to make choices that make him present.
Martin LandauRead
I studied with Strasberg, Elia Kazan. They raised the bar. They weren't easy to please, and they made you achieve the best you could do. That's what a teacher does: he infuses you with passion for something.
Martin LandauRead
As a Jew, there's a need to keep that atrocity alive. There were Catholics and gypsies and homosexuals who died in the Holocaust, too. It's amazing that people allowed this slaughter to take place. There's a need to make these films and reiterate it happened.
Martin LandauRead
I love to see lack of clarity in a performance as well as clarity, as well as trust, as well as the kinds of things that human beings go through. I love to see spontaneity and 'inevitability.' How it gets there is going to shock the hell out of me, but it will get there somehow.
Martin LandauRead
People think I'm a very serious actor, which I am. But you know, if you don't have a sense of humor doing what I do, you perish.
Martin LandauRead
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