Quotes About Roles

I've had some interesting roles along the way, but they tend to be cause-driven. They're always about something. There isn't time for character work as an actor because you're fighting the cause or mourning the child or fighting the disease, etc.

This will sound funny coming out of my mouth, but I like to play characters that have an intelligence. It doesn't matter if it's a physical intelligence or emotional intelligence.

Sometimes I get into the movies and into the roles; it's hard for me to move on.

There are a lot of roles in Shakespeare, basically. If I feel that the script is a movie, I would be interested in doing any role of Shakespeare's.

I'm blessed to have cool roles in these big movies.

It is great that the industry is open to accepting character roles and moving away from the cliched Bollywood Hindi masala films.

I was always asked to play roles where I was the contrasting or multicultural character. Sometimes that worked for me - often it didn't.

I get a lot of single mum roles - 'It's a Free World' turned out well, so people thought, 'She can be a single mum, Kierston can do that. Or live in a council house - she can do that.'

I have done 'Mumbai Meri Jaan,' 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!;' they are not comedy. But those roles didn't stick with people. Comedy films run, even though some of them are bad films. So people see these more.

I have very much enjoyed being in the music business in different roles through five different decades.

I like to originate new roles and characters for musical theater.

Some musicians play blues, others classical jazz or bluegrass. I like to play political roles because I can merge my political interests with my creative interests.

People always think that because of 'Dr. Quinn' that I just play nice family stuff. But the truth of the matter is that 'East of Eden' was a very successful thing for me in the past. I've played a lot of very evil people in my time.

One of the great advantages of my time spent in movies and in basically every role possible, both in front of the camera and behind the camera, that I've gotten to see all these different ways that people work and the way movies are constructed from the inside out, from beginning to end.

Knowing that Gene and Morgan were playing those roles made it much easier to put the script together-we knew who we were writing it for. It took some mystery away.

Why people pick me for the roles that they do is a bit of a mystery.

You know, I really enjoy longevity. I see actors in their forties and they just turn out these really fabulous roles and characters. You know who they are, but you wouldn't necessarily know their names.

I have been given a lot of roles that are downtrodden, mammy-ish. A lot of lawyers or doctors who have names but absolutely no lives. You're going to get your three or four scenes; you're not going to be able to show what you can do.

Roles don't fascinate me. It is the narrative, the screenplay that is fascinating.

When we get to a point when trans folks are included in the creative process, the narrative will be much more authentic. Trans actors playing trans roles is a key part of that. But some of the trans talent is not even making it into the audition room, let's be honest.

I have played nasty people, but not everyone has seen that stuff. Before 'The Office,' I mainly got cast as little toe-rags.

Most actresses want to look their best on the screen. It's only natural. But many of my roles have called for dreary-looking characters.

I'm naturally athletic, and I think playing strong, female roles just kind of happened.

Often, the roles I'm offered in England are melancholic women who are filled with regret for the past, regret for their fading beauty.