If an actor only comes alive when he has lines to say, it doesn't work, and the same goes for illustrated characters.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
A lot of the time, as an actor, you don't have the freedom to change what your lines are, and they can often be very unnatural or difficult to portray in a real light.
As an actor, I've always been interested in making sure I can perform the role and the lines in the way the writer intended.
If people need to be informed by lines, then there's no reason why the actor is saying the line except for information for the audience; I think there's something wrong.
Mostly in movies an actor has to come to a mark, an X, and deliver his line - but that's so artificial, that's not how people really behave.
Sometimes the writing can be so good that the actor doesn't really have to do anything.
Ultimately, as an actor, it comes down to committing to the text in the script.
An actor's most important responsibility is to know lines well.
As an actor, you're tied to the writing. You live and die by what's written for you. And you can elevate that to a certain extent, but really, that's your blueprint.
Will and Tommy Lee are the only actors I've ever worked with where neither of them want to say any lines.
Actors don't need a lot of talk beyond the first few sentences. They may say they don't draw on their own life, but all actors do.