I keep learning this as an aspiring director in film school and by other people I work with. I am told that if the acting is bad in your projects, it's not the actors, it's you the director.
But in my experience some actors do a better job than others, and it seems like a large part of it is the actor.
For example if Paul Thomas Anderson cast say... Dolph Lundgren in There Will Be Blood, could he have directed Lundgren to give just as good as a performance as Daniel Day-Lewis, because he is Paul Thomas Anderson and he is that good at directing performances?
Or do the actors you pick actually make a huge difference, and it's not all on the director to get a good performance?
But in my experience some actors do a better job than others, and it seems like a large part of it is the actor.
For example if Paul Thomas Anderson cast say... Dolph Lundgren in There Will Be Blood, could he have directed Lundgren to give just as good as a performance as Daniel Day-Lewis, because he is Paul Thomas Anderson and he is that good at directing performances?
Or do the actors you pick actually make a huge difference, and it's not all on the director to get a good performance?