When I'm offered a role, I look at what I think I can do with it. I look to see if I can project myself into it.
My first paid role was my first job out of drama school, which was 'Just William.' It was a BBC TV show. I played Ethel.
I think the first thing that I really did was 'Traffic Light,' which was more of a half-hour sitcom. And from there, I just got more comedic roles.
That's the joy of getting to be an actor - getting to play all kinds of different roles and showing so many different sides of yourself.
For some reason, I like to put myself in situations where I don't even know how I ended up there. I never want to be complacent or comfortable in a role.
It's been difficult to find roles that are independent, strong, and self-assured; I always say I can't play the princess. I'm not a pretty princess! I'm a tomboy.
I promise you that there are a lot of people involved in various kinds of retail activities who think they have a crucial role in the economy, and they're right.
Somebody like Mailer brings to that role everything that he stands for. The types of characters that I gravitate towards, the types of icons, tend to have a heavy physicality in that way.
There's no particular role that comes to mind that I'd like to take on, but for me, it's about playing interesting characters and not just two-dimensional ones.
I'm not intimidated by lead roles. I'm better in them. I don't feel pressure. I feel released at times like that. That's what I'm born to do.
I think that the Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government.
One of the fun things as an actor is to really spread your wings as wide as possible and do a variety of roles. I've been really lucky in that sense, I think.
America is exceptional in combining standard great-power realism with extravagant idealism about the country's redemptive role in creating international order.
If you relax too much, the subconscious plays the role; the conscious does something else, rather than the other way around, which is the way it's supposed to be.
Here's the thing: If you're taking roles that aren't intimidating you, and I think this is a cliche that a lot of actors say, but if it's not intimidating you, then why are you doing it?
Any actress will tell you, when you've been given a starring role in the initial run of a show, you want to be getting the standing ovations every night, not just on review night.
My character on 'Orange is the New Black' is not one that requires being absolutely shredded with 5% body fat. But I wouldn't be opposed to doing that for a role one day.
I think there's a lot of reasons for having an extended primary. I think super PACs play a role.
Really, I was such a late bloomer, I really didn't learn how to be me until I was in my late '40s, which is when I started playing roles that were closer to me.
Having done something like The Thorn Birds gives you enormous longevity. You can keep picking and choosing the roles for a bit longer.
I'm trained in musical theatre and 'Pitch Perfect' is the first movie where I get to really belt out. I beat Adele for that role.
