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Sometimes the writing can be so good that the actor doesn't really have to do anything.

When the scenes are written really great, we as actors try not to mess them up by getting in the way.

Actors want to surprise themselves. When it's really good, you kind of transcend yourself, and that happens infrequently. Very, very rarely.

You need the actors to feel as much ownership of the performance and the direction of the story as you do to get the most out of everyone's potential. Part of it is just making sure we all have the same vision.

Being an actor, we're so dependent on the writers.

My theory is that everything an actor does, from the way he looks at his watch to the way he moves across the stage, is in the service of advancing a story, and in that sense, it's all writing. In that sense we, while acting, write.

I think the writing skills of actors are sometimes underestimated.

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.

In TV, sometimes you get lost in the fog of the scene, and when you're working with such good actors, they can bring you into the scene.

Being a good television screenwriter requires an understanding of the way film accelerates the communication of words.