I realized that I wanted to play characters and do traditional theatre. I wanted to make believe again. I like putting on a costume and pretending to be someone else for a few hours, and I have a great respect for playwrights.
When I started, there was more of a cultural assumption that many readers would find gay characters irrelevant or repugnant.
I think I was always interested in darker characters just because there was a lot more to do.
The finest quality of our characters do not come from trying but from the mysterious and yet most effective capacity to be inspired.
I'm one of those writers who, when writing, believes she's god-and that she hasn't bestowed free will on any of her characters. In that sense there are no surprises in any of my books.
It is true that my characters have sex.
There's always an intellectual side to the films Ang Lee's doing and to the characters, and there's such a deep knowledge when you've worked with the actors that he's worked with, on stage in particular, but also in film.
I put heavy emphasis on the characters.
I do have characters who are more well known than I am, which suits me fine.
With Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward has written the best sort of novel-a beautiful, important book that's both unflinching and tender, heartbreaking and triumphant. A lyrical and riveting testament to the strength of the human spirit, as well as the power of family and community. Ward's paragraphs are like songs, lifting us even as the authenticity of this world and these characters keeps the ground in clear sight. This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary writer.
You don't write for actors. Actors come for characters you've made up.
When I think of 'Nightmare on Elm Street,' there was a warmth to those teenagers that I related to. They were not aware that they were in the middle of a horror film, and I really loved those characters and I empathized with them.
I want to continually play characters that speak to me, but also are different than what I've just done.
As an actor I'm always interested in dialogue, the way the characters speak to each other. I also enjoy a bit of humor, especially when it's unexpected.
My job, and what I've taken such joy in, is the craft of acting and of creating dynamic and authentic characters, and then finding a way to build them within the confines and with the support of the worlds that I've found myself.
The creative part, with the writing of it and the vision, and finding the voice of a show and the characters, is much harder to teach somebody. It's like music. You can either play it or you can't. If you can't play music and you really struggle and work hard, you can learn, but you have to have some inner gift to take it to the next level.
If a writer is true to his characters they will give him his plot. Observations must play second fiddle to integrity.
I was always inventing characters and making up stories.
Before I started to make films, I didn't give much thought to the way the characters were physically positioned in the story world.
I have a very healthy appetite for good writing and good characters. Having weak writing is my biggest fear.