I always start from scratch with a character - they're never based on anyone else. You get ideas of what people look like, and I'm a great people watcher. You can draw inspiration from people.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I always get inspiration from whatever characters say about my character.
I'm a physical actor in that I start with a physical sketch of the character. I find it easier to find inspiration from the outside in. If I find the character's tensions and the way he carries himself or looks, that's going to affect how I talk. So that's how I start to create that person.
A lot of times characters are combinations of people I come across in life. I people-watch a lot.
Creating characters is like throwing together ingredients for a recipe. I take characteristics I like and dislike in real people I know, or know of, and use them to embellish and define characters.
I start with an idea or a problem or a conflict, or even a situation that might be pertinent to the lives of young people, then the characters grow from that point. I try to make strong characters that change and develop and learn from their mistakes.
I try mainly to just focus on character and what my character's point of view is, with each person, and try to figure out story.
I try to create characters that I am fascinated by on some level or intrigued by or can't stand.
I always try to make each character my own.
All characters come from people I know, but after the initial inspiration, I tend to modify the characters so they fit with the story.
I love to start characters in a place where you think you know them. We can make all kinds of assumptions about them and think they have no redeeming qualities, but like everyone, they're complex.