In film, I find it very useful always to do some preparation before you start rehearsals or start shooting, because there's so much that's against you on a film set.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think that sometimes in theater, I don't prepare much beyond going to the rehearsals.
Once I finish shooting a film, I usually sit on it to see how we can make it better.
When you work on a film, it's important to feel that you are starting afresh and doing it for the first time. Also, it's important to have those butterflies in your stomach; you need to wonder how you are going to approach the character and whether you will be able to do justice to the part.
There is so much to do on a film set. It is an extraordinarily invigorating and wonderful place to be, when things are running well.
Sometimes you go into a film and you have no time to prepare and have to compress the details into a few days and then rely on the instinct and what happens when you're in a scene with other actors and that chemistry or not.
On a film, you do your own work, you come together and meet on set, and then you shoot. It's great.
With film, so much is in the director's hands. Once something is cut together - unless you're in the editing room - you don't really remember what the alternatives are. The exercise in theater is night after night, you are doing the same play, but you have another opportunity to explore.
In theater, you get to rehearse several weeks, you memorize everything, and by the time you open, you know what the play is. In film, it's almost the opposite. You do your work on your own and maybe have a couple of minutes to rehearse. When the camera rolls, you generally don't know what's going to happen.
On a film you can really get away with learning the scene the night before and that's often just not possible with TV, so you have to be a little bit more prepared a little bit more in advance.
I learned that the best way to work is to allow the scene to live on its own before making major adjustments, whether in rehearsal or on film.