Wes Bentley
Everywhere you turn in New Zealand, there's something exciting to do. It's the gem of the world. It's so far away from the madness, and so you get that element. It was just stunning.
The first year at Juilliard is, I think, the best. And partly why I left - I only went one year. Partly why I felt okay leaving is that the most important elements, I believe, happen in the first year. What they do is they tear down all your conceptions of acting, and they take away all your tricks that you've learned.
My imagination was really hyperactive as a child and animated. I had those elements, but as you live and go through the hardships, it fades. 'Pete's Dragon' reawakened that. It rekindled the feeling of the invisible dragon.
I live to experience different things. Part of what I love about acting is to live the lives of others.
A reflection of an exact image is the closest thing to you-so that you can see it-but it's far enough away so that you really understand it. There is real life in this movie, but it hovers just an inch above reality.
You treat characters like people you meet in life-friends or mentors.
Both my parents are Methodist preachers, I grew up in a church.
Then my extended family, there are preachers and evangelists, former priests. So I have quite a bit of history with Church, religion and spirituality.
I still consider myself a very spiritual person but the structure of the church isn't really for me.
I didn't know anything about Opus Die except from pop culture, like Dan Brown novels, which I knew wasn't really knowing anything about Opus Die.
But as a kid, I loved 'Monty Python.' My Dad was a devout watcher. We used to watch it when we ate dinner!
After 'Four Feathers,' I quit then because I just lost faith. I didn't like how the business was.
I wanted fame, but I thought it would be incremental, and I became afraid of the overnight-sensation thing.
Growing up, I could never decide what I wanted to be because I wanted to be so many things.
Whenever I am applying myself to something, I can't help but be part of it.
Sometimes when you're doing fantasy, that's the most important thing, is to be a blank space, because the last thing you want to do ever as an actor is judge yourself or the character or the movie that you're in. You want to just play the moment as best you can. Juilliard helped me do that.
I always think about stuff I learned, in any scene. Juilliard taught me a lot.
I went in and read for 'Maleficent,' and it was hard to get a concept of what the imagery would be like. So you have a hard time seeing how you'll fit in to the movie through the visuals.
As an actor, you always want to reach back to being a child and having the spontaneity and the imagination of a child.
A lot of actors like to get themselves worked up, and I think from what I saw from Mr. Redford, he goes the other way. He relaxes into it.
Being in New Zealand, which is incredibly beautiful - I think it's paradise - it's just the perfect place. Everything about it I love, and I would love to live there.
A lot of actors will complain about the green screen work, but what you do get to do is what you probably should have learned, from the beginning, on stage. You have to create it in your mind and really go there to bring it. Part of the fun of acting is those challenges. You feel goofy, but sometimes that's a good feeling.
As far as the creative side, the more I do this, the more I know that it's all about the writing. We don't always celebrate that enough, but without the writing, you can't do much. You got on a film sometimes, and it's sort of half-written, and they expect and think that the actor's job is to bring the extra part and the good part. It's not.
It's all in the writing. The writing has got to be there. Whether that's dialogue or character, or whatever, it doesn't matter. As long as they've done something special, than you can do something special.
I am aware of my film habits because I have for so long played guys who are darker or dealing with very complex issues, and they're dealing with their darker sides.
I'd like to play a guy who doesn't think so much. I'd like a character whose words come out before he thinks about it. I want a character who is just kind of dumb in that way. A guy who doesn't have too many dangerous, devious ideas. It would be fun to play a role like that.
Sometimes, there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it. Like my heart's going to cave in.Collection: Beauty
I grew up in the church and had religion in my life for a long time. I'm not really a church goer, but I definitely have a hunger for a spiritual connection to the world and for my soul to be healed.Collection: Spiritual
You want to have the experience. As far as the creative side, the more I do this, the more I know that it's all about the writing. You got on a film sometimes and it's sort of half-written, and they expect and think that the actor's job is to bring the extra part and the good part. It's not. We're good at saying what other people have written, but for the majority of it, that's about it, comedians aside. It's all in the writing. Whether that's dialogue or character, or whatever, it doesn't matter. As long as they've done something special, than you can do something special.Collection: Writing
I think the greatest gift actually acting is that I have a true fascination and love for people, and the way they are, and all the choices they made in life and all the different paths they took. I feel like acting gives me an opportunity to dig a little bit into that. That's great because it's eye-opening and it makes you an open person.Collection: Eye