There are very few actors who are truly good at improvising; that's a real skill.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
There are certain actors who are very good at improvising, like Dustin Hoffman and Glenda Jackson.
I know there are some actors who are just brilliant at improvising and brilliant at just being in the moment and doing it there and then. I'm not one of those actors.
See, that's the thing: I'm not one of those actors who thinks, 'God, I've got to improvise and make it my own.' No, my first job as an actor is to take what's written and make it work. And then, if they want me to improvise, I'll do that.
I think not every improviser is a good stage actor. Certainly not every stage actor is a good improviser.
I never did improv professionally, but that was certainly in my training as an actor. I like it.
I'm more of a writer than an actor, and I used to say that I'm mostly an improviser, though I haven't improvised in awhile.
Improv has been immensely beneficial to me as both an actor and a writer.
I think when a lot of actors hear improv, they think of throwing a line in or doing a slightly different take.
In discussing the process with the actors, I made it clear to them that they could improvise but that the sum total of their improvisation needed to impart certain plot points, and schematic material.
Improv is a very big thing for me. The thing with actors is I do not understand at all how they do what they do. I'm fascinated by it, and I have such a respect for it.