I really like Shakespeare a lot. The characters that he writes for females, I think, are really great and a lot more compelling than what modern writers write, which is weird because they didn’t have actresses then.
I think women get caught up too much in having a plan – ‘I’m going to get married at this age I’m going to have a kid at this age’ – and then they just try to find a guy who will fit into that picture. I don’t want my life to be based on that.
I did a different production with a different director and Bill Pullman. Oleanna – the one you saw – we were doing right after Bourne Identity or right after it came out.
We can become very short-sighted in terms of objectives. The first thing to go during times of economic crisis and budget cuts is funding for things that are essential and not-quantifiable, like the arts. Save Big Bird
I think it’s really special to be a part of something that people are still watching or thinking about or interested in, or remember fondly many years later. I don’t think it’s annoying at all.
I’m not good at keeping secrets. If I’m entrusted with a secret from a friend, I can do that because I’m a good friend, but I don’t like having secrets, it makes me nervous.
I like a director who is very observant and is watching what I’m doing and noticing what I’m doing, but is giving me time to figure it out. They don’t jump right in and give you a note before you’ve had time to really search on your own with how to do a scene.
I used to struggle a lot with dwelling on how the day at work was, and I would dwell on my performance. Now, I’m like, “Well, that’s over and done with, and I can’t control the outcome, so move on.” I just remember that it’s entertainment I am making.
I know it sounds earnest, but I do really feel in my bones that acting is just a small part of the equation when you are making a movie. The director really is in charge. Actors are as important or unimportant as the rest of the people around them.
I remember seeing Janet McTeer in A Doll’s House. My grandmother took me and we had seats in the very back row, but her performance was so powerful – it was very accessible. I felt like I was much closer than I was.
As an actor, you’re only one little piece of the puzzle; you’re fulfilling someone else’s vision. If you’re involved earlier on, you’re kind of creating your own.
I did a run of a play over the summer in a really tiny theater in New York and that was rejuvenating for me. I directed a short series for Hulu called Paloma and being in an editing room, I learned a lot about acting.
