If you can see it, you can be it. And I believe in that.
I see artists as the first responders. And when the proverbial crap hits the fan, we are there to be of service, to tell the story, to bring a balm, to soothe, to provide catharsis. You know, not to make our work any more important or less important, but just that there is a great importance to it.
I went to an art school in high school and got in a little trouble like you do when you're a teenager and not being closely supervised. I did. I followed the Dead around, and it was fun. It was great. It was kind and sweet and lovely.
Personally, I don't want to do theater that's very stylish, when it's just stories on stage that are basically the same as TV or film.
You know, the '80s, as crazy as the '80s were, that was a surprisingly kind and generous environment that I found myself in as a teenager.
We are in this amazing age of television where there's an incredible amount and an incredible quality of television, of long-form narrative.
I will happily work anywhere they need me to if they pay me well.
You always hear about the disempowered actor, their fate in other people's hands. It's just really wonderful to experience it the other way around.
By nature, my default place is a very introverted one, so it's funny to be in such an extroverted profession. I'm a little inappropriately in it.
I get to play a lot of powerful, smartest women in the room. And that's deeply satisfying.
I was a spooky kid; that was just my nature.
I think there is a certain gravitas about me. My energy can be very big and yet contained.
I never had any preconceived ideas about acting, because I always thought I was going to be a visual artist.
When I finished high school, I didn't have much direction - I was a Deadhead kid who ended up bumming around London seeing a lot of theater. That's where I saw the performance that made me want to act: Vanessa Redgrave doing 'A Touch of the Poet.'
My God, I have so much bounty in my life.
I'm dying for people to let me be funny!
I think being a mom changed me, and now it's not just about what I want to do and what's sort of interesting, but what I absolutely have to do.
If I'm asking people to give me two hours of their time, it's because I really feel like they need to listen to what the writer is talking about.
When I was nursing my son, you're up all the time during the first year, and you're sort of brain dead. So I'd find myself watching Turner Classic Movies at odd hours.
I love seeing people in their mess. I find that heartwarming. Charm just doesn't interest me. If I want to see charming people, I can watch TV.
