Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazanwas a Greek-American director, producer, writer and actor, described by The New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth7 September 1909
CityIstanbul, Turkey
CountryUnited States of America
class firsts actors
I was not what you'd call a first-class actor, but I did all right.
actors dinner firsts
The first thing you should do with an actor is not sign a contract with him. Take him to dinner. And take him for a walk afterwards.
hero character firsts
Look for the contradictions in every character, especially in your heroes and villains. No one should be what they first seem to be. Surprise the audience.
glad
I've been ratting on myself all these years and I didn't know it. I'm glad what I done.
american-director revealing
You can't just sit there and do the lines. You have to do something revealing or unusual.
history performance
If there is a better performance by a man in the history of film, I don't know what it is.
maybe
I didn't have that much confidence. Maybe it looks that way. I'm glad it does.
american-director relationship
Our relationship was cursed by the fact that we agreed on everything.
american-director life months six stay
You've got to keep fighting - you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive.
american-director brando heard machine walk
The thing about Brando was that I'd make these directions, and he'd walk away. He'd heard enough... to get the machine going.
communists
I was even superior to the Communists and when they didn't go along with me, I quit them.
directors film problem
I didn't have the problem of finding myself at 45 on the wrong course - I always wanted to be a film director.
kids guy age
With kids you can take a chance but casting a guy at 45 is different. You don't discover somebody that age. If an actor hasn't made it by that time he probably has no talent.
tvs film made
TV has made us get down to the nub and new films will begin to live up to what the medium can be.