David Nutter

“I think reality deals with good and bad.”

“One really can't control or think about the reaction of the audience because you're so steeped in trying to get what you feel is right on film and to translate the page in the proper way. The rest is superficial stuff you can't change or adjust or deal with.”

“Getting viewers to come back is the real key to making something successful.”

“The caliber of people that I've worked with, there'll never be another 'Game of Thrones' crew, and it's a situation in which I feel truly is the cornerstone of my career.”

“I thrive best when I'm in a positive situation - that's the most important thing.”

“It's quite something to see that what I was doing was affecting people in that respect: people jumping up and down on their couches, screaming, yelling, crying.”

“I don't want to be someone whose shot takes you out of the dramatic sequence or takes you out of the emotional story that you're trying to tell or says, 'Hey, look at this cool shot I have here.' To me, that's not right.”

“The biggest challenge directing the final season of 'Game of Thrones' is just the importance of getting it right.”

“Whenever I get any of the 'Game of Thrones' scripts, it's always like, 'oh my God, how am I going to do this?' It's a sort of performance anxiety about being able to do a good job.”

“I went off and did 'Space,' which turned out very well, and when the series was picked up, my options were to stay with 'Space' as a producer/director or go to 'The X-Files' as a producer/director.”

“I want to make something like 'Arrow' and 'Flash' relatable and understandable and not make it cartoonish.”

“I enjoy the hero genre more than anything else. I enjoy origin stories. I enjoy doing stories about people who learn what they are capable of.”

“After 'Disturbing Behavior' and the pummeling I received creatively and emotionally, I did not know if I had it in me to do it again, but I just jumped back in and said, 'This is what I love to do so much, so I'm just going to do it as well as I can.'”

“When I directed the pilot for 'Smallville,' I knew that making Clark Kent relatable would be the key to audiences believing in him as a hero. 'Arrow' is a different show - darker and harder-edged - but it's the same core idea.”

“Talent is No. 1. No. 2 is being at the right place at the right time.”

“I'm a big believer in making sure that action is not confusing and the audience understands what the characters are up to and what they're doing.”

“One of the things The WB has about it that a lot of other networks don't is they lead with their heart.”

“On the 'X-Files' our attitude always was respect the audience.”

“What's most important is to create an atmosphere that's real, providing characters the audience can root for. Once they become emotionally attached, that's the secret in building a show. The audience can see themselves in these characters, and they respond to the stories.”

“I do extensive storyboards so people can get a sense of what we're doing, and what the attitude and tone is. I work a lot with the actors. I like to go to sets or locations with them before shooting so that they know what they'll be doing on the day. I have found actors really do like to know about blocking, etc., before the shoot day comes.”