William Macy:
A good actor's director, first of all, is prepared, so there's not an exorbitant amount of wasted footage. In other words, it's hard on an actor when you have to do a scene 45 times and you know damn well that three of the angles a director is shooting will never make it into the movie. If you use this angle, you can't use that angle. A good director is very well prepared, and knows exactly how he's going to cut the film, so the shooting is as efficient as possible. Second, I love directors who talk action as opposed to emotion. I've always found it completely useless when a director comes up and says, "Okay, you're upset and you're desperate and you hate this guy." That's shit you can't act. That will lead you down the garden path to nowhere, I think. What's good is when he says, "Okay, you've got to get this guy to do your will," or "You've got to get this guy to back down," or "You need a big favor." Talking action, as opposed to emotion.