It is strange how your understanding of a play changes. It normally happens after a performance and you suddenly think, ‘So that’s what that line really means’ – it’s like a light going on. – Richard McCabe
Experience tells us that whereas that degree of recognition can happen for one or two actors, for the vast majority it doesn’t, so what matters is to try and be a better actor. – Richard McCabe
A live audience with live reactions feeds a different sort of acting that will then inform your film work, and vice versa. – Richard McCabe
It’s funny: I can never sleep between shows; I think it’s because I don’t like to switch the motor off. I’ll probably have some chicken or pasta, though never the two together, and maybe go out for a quick wander around. – Richard McCabe
What’s odd is that I’ve never been asked to do any comedy in film. That’s something I could certainly do. – Richard McCabe
In my whole career, in fact, I can remember only two first nights when a show was at its peak on the first night. And I just wish we could devise a system where critics came not on a single evening but were given a choice of performances to attend. – Richard McCabe
As a young actor, I worked with Kevin McNally and have always thought him brilliant. – Richard McCabe
If you are feeling something, then Shakespeare felt it and wrote about it – and wrote about it so eloquently. – Richard McCabe
It is the nature of the business that you work unsociable, unpredictable hours and can get called away at a moment’s notice to somewhere on the other side of the world. This can put a strain on home and personal life. – Richard McCabe
I don’t think I have had a big break, although joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986 opened up new horizons. – Richard McCabe
