Character, to me, is the life's blood of fiction.

I don't mind being the center of attention as a character but in real life it's not for me.

Show me a character whose life arouses my curiosity, and my flesh begins crawling with suspense.

Maybe there's something in the Oregon character that pushed me into the kind of life that I took up.

Building a character - nothing gives me more high than the process of exploring someone else's life on screen.

My only goal is to stay focused on my craft and make sure my life is as sharp as it can be to attack any character that is given to me.

There are many things in common with my life and my character in 'American Crime.' My upbringing has definitely helped me out in this role.

When people see me in public, they're usually like, 'Whoa, you're a real person.' It's as if they're seeing Pinocchio or a cartoon character come to life.

That character called 'Robin Wright' in the movie called 'The Congress' has nothing to do with me... I've never felt that way about life choices, career, etc.

That's, to me, the ultimate goal - to disappear inside another character and bring them so fully to life that I've convinced other human beings that it's a real person.

Ultimately, physical resemblance isn't as important as whether this person can bring this character to life in a way that's compelling and makes me care about what happens to them.

I haven't experienced college life. It's the phase that my character in 'Raanjhana' is set in. But it isn't that bad, either. I have nearly 30 films behind me and a National Award to boot.

I understand in the context of acting, it allows me to manifest character, but I am no wiser then the next person that is living up a life, that is acting and reacting to the built-up circumstances around them.

The biggest similarity between me and my character is that we've both played clubs for 20 years. In real life, the clubs aren't quite as controlled - and my hair isn't quite as in place as it is on 'Ally McBeal.'

I constantly deal with being called Shaft, and I vacillate back and forth with people coming up to me about it. But it never ceases to blow me away with the impact that character had on my life and my fans' lives.

For me, when my agents and reps send me a script, I read it through, just for the story purpose of it, and then I read it again to think of my character and see if it's something that I'm interested in bringing to life.

The character in 'Arya' was so close to my real life persona. The director saw me once and felt I was the right guy for the role because my body language was so flamboyant. In real life, too, I am very peppy and full of life.

Sometimes people will approach me on the street and ask me very personal questions about my dating life. Fans talk to me like they know me, and it's like, 'You don't know me. You know my character, but you really don't know me.'

To me, obstacles in life build character. You have to be able to overcome adversity in order to succeed and appreciate the simple things life has to offer... that's where most of my inspiration for writing and singing comes from.

Audiences make their minds up about people they see on screen, just like they do in real life. That's what fascinates me in film. You see a character and have to think: is this person different to what I assumed he was when I first saw him?

If you're a movie star, you get the girl, you lose the girl, and then you get her back. But if you're a character like me, you lose the girl, then you get another one, then you get another one, then you lose them all, then you lose your life.

When I was starting out, I thought I would go into comedy and there would be a mentor, like the Philip Seymour Hoffman character in 'Almost Famous,' in my life, and there just wasn't. It was really frustrating for me because I desired that so much.

I do look a bit different because Dudley was a very piggish character and about three years ago I lost quite a considerable amount of weight. It means that I can lead a normal life without the baggage of people running after me and shouting things at me.

My first kiss was onscreen. My character learned to drive before I did, so when they asked me to hit the mark with that giant Lincoln, I hit the camera instead. Being an actor gives an interesting perspective on life. And in my case, an interesting preview.

In real life, we do things out of character, constantly. A couple of days ago, my shoes were hurting, so I walked barefoot through New York. Someone who has known me my whole life would think that was so out of character. But I did it because of the circumstances.

Acting is so exciting to me. It's a thrill; otherwise I wouldn't do it. Not to be hokey, but I think life is definitely worth living, whether you're working or not. For an actor, the character is the thing... it doesn't matter what medium you're in. as long as you have something to do.

I do feel that there is a little confusion in people's minds between the real me and sitcom Miranda. I am pleased that people identify with the character, but I think they want me to be her and are disappointed that the real Miranda doesn't actually fall into graves or be that rubbish at life.

For me, 'The Social Network' isn't about Facebook. It certainly isn't about how people use it. It's about a flawed character and his pursuit of that grand idea that defines him and validates his life and how far he'll go to get it, and the repercussions that come as a result of that - what he gives up in the process.

The only thing that I have to be assured of is that the character must be negative for a sensible reason. She should not be behind everyone's life just for fun, which is the case in many serials. Moreover, it will also test my potential as an actor, so playing a negative character would be an interesting challenge for me.

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