John Hawkes

In the time between when you first read a script and are offered the role and the time when you begin to shoot, I really love putting in the time and work on that and getting a solid backstory to a character and researching all that I can about what that person does for a vocation or their upbringing or where they're from.

American Actor

Jason Reynolds

I believe that every character is a setting, a world with moving parts, and on the other hand, every setting is, in fact, a character - a living breathing thing with personality and backstory. The way stories come to life, at least for me, is when these elements commune in relationship to one another.

American Author

Krysten Ritter

I think backstory is really important to know because I'm all about prep work. I like to do all of my work right away, as soon as I get it. I'm incapable of procrastinating on anything, so I like to do all of the work.

American Actress

Regina King

I create my own backstory regardless of if I'm told something about the background or not. There's always more that you can develop in your head that makes a character more layered, more honest.

Ranvir Shorey

Though every film teaches me at least three new things, I don't subscribe to doing homework about a character's backstory unless it's a historical role or one that requires training in accent.

Indian Actor

Sarah Gadon

I do build my own backstory as an actor. It's important to know where your characters have come from in order to know where they're going - in order to exist in that state of being.

Canadian Actress

Yael Stone

It's really interesting working in television as opposed to the theater, where you know the arc of the character and you are able to create this whole backstory.

Australian Actress

Hale Appleman

Great direction, great acting partner, great character backstory - these are all rare luxuries to have in the room.

Julia London

My characters are all made up of pieces of people I have known, their backstories pieces of mine.

American Writer

Richa Pallod

Detailing and backstories are so important; only they draw you into the life of a character.

Indian Model

Provides deeper understanding of characters or situations in narratives.

Literary Depth

Often revealed through flashbacks or characters reflecting on their past.

Flashback Tool

Backstories can evoke empathy or help explain characters' motivations.

Emotional Connection

Backstories explain underlying reasons for conflicts or events.

Understanding Conflicts

Places current situations in the context of historical events or processes.

Historical Context

Important for understanding layered or complex narratives.

Complex Narratives

Gives insight into the formative experiences that shaped a person.

Persona Building

Can be a source of inspiration by revealing difficulties overcome.

Inspiration Source

Humanizes and adds depth to public figures by showing their personal side.

Human Interest

 Symphony that looks at the backstories of music and working with the young musicians at the New World Symphony on projects that explore the potential of the new performing arts centers for both entertainment and education and of course the New World Symphony led to the YouTube Symphony and projects on the

Music and emotion...

 the world and you can read about our famous wall of photos at headquarters in an essay i wrote for our photography newsletter you can also learn the backstory of eight national geographic photos that made an impact including the image of the peruvian shepherd most importantly this year's year in

Capturing the Year in an...

 So we can explain that failure two ways. The first, well, it's pretty obvious. I'm going to go ahead and say it out loud Opossums are hideous. But maybe more importantly is that the story of the billy possum was all wrong, especially compared to the backstory of the teddy bear.

The strange story of the...

 serpent with deer antlers and it's a narrative that's going on in there with backstories and it's a very complex narrative but all the depictions the characters on the walls of that cave are supernatural beings chemical dating shows that the cave paintings are a

Descendents of Cahokia PIPE...

 that looks at the backstories of music, and working with the young musicians at the New World Symphony on projects that explore the potential of the new performing arts centers for both entertainment and education. And of course, the New World Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas:...

 director, stage designer, choreographer, and costume designer. A cartoon has characters, a set, dialogue, even if one line, and a backstory. The characters must be dressed to fit the idea, speak in a way that is natural and forwards the idea

Inside a cartoonist's...

 everywhere it's so rich and and the texture of this culture is so deep and so varied and so full and so immediately you hit the ground running and I started just immersing in that part of the story how do I tell the story the backstory of

Sky Caves of Nepal, Part...

 classification scheme that we still use for stars today remarkably little about her biography her backstory and so we just had to dig deep we went to Harvard went to their archives had an archivist find material for us to make sure that

Selecting the Stories of...

 It's very exciting. This is tomato number one. This is the guy that you'll find in sub shops, supermarkets and fast-food joints around the world. It's got a really long and complicated backstory.

Big data, small farms...

 tell us the story about how that baby landed in your arms you have a red spout from a milk bottle in one hand and you're caring for this animal I would just love to know the backstory of that

Backstory