William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr.is an American actor, screenwriter, teacher and theater director. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though he also appeared in summer action films. Macy has described himself as "sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy... Everyman"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth13 March 1950
CityMiami, FL
CountryUnited States of America
I love making movies, I love the differentness of it, I love writing. But I've always liked television. I grew up on television.
Directing is a huge amount of work with very little payoff, and a quarter of the money, and nine times more time spent.
You have to do whatever you can to limit the things that could make you feel insecure.
It's hard on an actor when you have to do a scene 45 times and you know damn well that three of the angles a director is shooting will never make it into the movie.
Another mistake a director can make is not to be prepared, so you get there on the day to shoot the scene, and they don't know how it should be blocked, and they're not clear on how they want to do a scene.
Making a mistake means overshooting a scene, shooting too many takes, for instance. Long after you've got it, you just keep shooting.
When a director makes a mistake, people suffer. People suffer horribly sometimes.
You should know the lines, be prepared, get sleep, and have the script analyzed so you're ready to rock and roll.
Sometimes, directors are afraid to stop shooting, because the second you stop and say, "We got it," and move on, you'll never get another chance. And they're terrified to get in the cutting room and not be happy. So they just keep shooting.
Ultimately, a more experienced director realizes that you've got to stop sometime and just move on. They're braver about that.
To a certain extent. I'm a fan of rehearsal on the day [of the shoot], more than getting together a week beforehand.
I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history of filmmaking, every year there have been about two really wonderful movies, about 10 others that are pretty good, and a whole pile of garbage.
We always want to see people strive and see the human spirit triumph against adversity. That's what it's all about because that's what we're doing. We're trying to triumph in our lives.
Before I made it big I worked as a dishwasher, washing dishes in this place called Dishwasher House where people could just come in and do whatever they wanted to the dishes and we had to clean them with our hands till they bled. A lot of struggling actors worked there-Downey Jr., Joaquin Phoenix, Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans-and we actually all kind of wish we still did.