Quotes from Joan Allen

I certainly do get at the end of my rope at times. We all do.

I'm not a huge risk taker. I think that, for me, I take certain kinds of risks, but if you look at me, you wouldn't say I was a big risk taker. I'm not going to jump out of an airplane and parachute and things like that. That's not really me.

When I was 20 years old and first with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, we had an 88-seat theater in a basement and no money.

I love to walk three to four miles a day if I can.

I wasn't one of those kids who was like, 'Get me to New York. Get me to a big city.' I was always much more shy. All I knew was that I loved to act.

I think I knew acting was what I wanted to do. But I was from this small town and there was no place for an adult to recognise it.

I thought that I wanted to be a cheerleader because I was one in middle school.

I think plays deserve other interpretations. They should live on, and other people should should take their hand at them. I'm very supportive of that.

My collaboration with Sally Potter on a small movie, 'Yes,' was very special to me. It helped my growth as an actor.

My favorite way of learning for acting has been doing it, not talking about it.

I'm pretty picky about plays.

Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful, even if it was just vicariously.

Almost any film that you do is an opportunity to open you up and make you more aware of an area that you might not be thinking about. That's what is kind of cool, or one of the cool things about this profession.

Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful, even if it was just vicariously.

Almost any film that you do is an opportunity to open you up and make you more aware of an area that you might not be thinking about. That's what is kind of cool, or one of the cool things about this profession.

I was a very good girl for a long time, that's what really drew me to acting. The stage was the perfect place to be outrageous, to be sad, to be angry, to be all these different things.

I'm hard to pin down. I tend to look different in films.

I think there's been a tendency to place me in what has been characterised as the 'moral centre' of the film. In films like 'The Ice Storm' and 'The Crucible' and 'Nixon,' that's the sort of the persona that emerged.

My favorite thing is to hang out at my house, be on my beautiful property, prune bushes, take a long walk, build a fire, and read.

I learn from each experience, and I take it for what it is and gain what I can.

I get recognised sometimes. But I just live my life. I get on the bus, I get on the subway, it's not a problem.

I don't get tons of scripts to be looking at and deciding on in terms of feature films; the industry has changed. Fortunately, with television and streaming and original series online, there's this whole new thing that has opened up, which I think is fantastic.

I was a very good girl for a long time, that's what really drew me to acting. The stage was the perfect place to be outrageous, to be sad, to be angry, to be all these different things.

I was always much more shy. All I knew was that I loved to act. But I don't know about the other part of it. I'm not sure I had the chutzpah to go and prove yourself.