Derek Magyar

“I think a lot of us can relate to not choosing to face a painful memory, and something that's a painful past, and wanting to pretend like it never happened.”

“I love the art of filmmaking very much in all aspects.”

“If I am looking at my work as an actor after having directed, I'm able to look at things in a much more technical way. There's no question about that.”

“CalArts was incredible for me. It's a school that I rave about and constantly want to give back to.”

“I've been an actor since I was a kid.”

“I approach directing from an actor's standpoint.”

“I love directing; it felt right to me when I did 'Flying Lessons'. It's something I will do again. Really, you can always be working and developing. That's something that's kind of ever constant.”

“There's lots of incredible roles out there that I'd love to tackle, but there's a select group of actors I find myself gravitating towards, like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Sean Penn or Daniel Day-Lewis - real transformational actors.”

“As an actor, if you were to simplify what acting really is, it's about letting go.”

“I come from a family where my father is a filmmaker and professor of film.”

“Going into my second film as a director, it's night and day of what it was like going into my first film. It doesn't matter what you know in your head and what you've been taught until you're there and doing it; it's a whole new ball game.”

“I'd say I'm definitely an actor first and foremost, but I love filmmaking.”