Quotes from Catherine Keener

If you give a character room to breathe, they come alive.

I encounter really tough men and women who are just so harsh, you can't bend them. You do come across these kinds of people in every profession-just unyielding.

I... had guys on the set who didn't like me... they weren't interested in the cold character.

The movies I usually do are maybe three or four weeks because they don't have a lot of money.

I've worked with a lot of great directors.

I'm not a public figure at all. I don't really go out a lot to places where there are people like those who sit at the bottom of your driveway.

I know many great actors who have small heads.

Insecurity is just something that's there all the time. I've never been crippled by it.

The more people involved in making a movie, the worse it is, generally.

Most times when people pitch you as being perfect for a part... they don't look at you as an actor who can transform. A lot of people are so literal.

Sometimes it just doesn't translate to people. You just move on, and you feel bad because people worked so hard on it and everyone loved it... Everybody was treated so well and was going for something and trying to do the best work possible.

These days there are a lot of people who just want to be famous. I think that comes from a naive place, because those people generally don't know what it's like.

If you work in casting, it's sort of not cool to want to act. A lot of people think that casting directors are frustrated actors, but it wasn't true with any of the casting people I knew.

These days there are a lot of people who just want to be famous. I think that comes from a naive place, because those people generally don't know what it's like.

I'm unqualified for anything else. I'm barely qualified for this.

If you work in casting, it's sort of not cool to want to act. A lot of people think that casting directors are frustrated actors, but it wasn't true with any of the casting people I knew.

I have a hard time visualizing anything, which is why I'm not a director, and which is why I try to work with ones I know have a strong idea in mind.

The movies I'm in not a lot of people see, but it's alright.

I don't think I'm very ambitious at all. But I seem to play people who have that quality.

I just never fantasized about Mr. Rogers, but I like his whole vibe.