Estelle Parsons Quotes

What I'd really like to do is do a film or two a year and then do theater in New York the rest of the year.

Acting is just a job at the end of the day, and it's a very strange one.

New York is a great place to be as an unrepresented actor because there are so many 'open auditions' that you can show up for without being submitted by an agent.

But it's hard to sustain a successful acting career today.

I think everyone has different challenges as a young actress in Hollywood.

It's a tough journey as an actor in Los Angeles.

There are times in show business when you work so much you think you will pop your cork, and then suddenly you can't find any work.

To have a job you can count on as an actor is so rare, whether that means belonging to a regional theater company or being on TV.

I did a little theatre work after that and the following year I got another part in a television series. Then it was almost to the end of the year before I got more work. That was coming to terms with the reality of the vocation I had chosen.

Basically, one of the hardest things about being an actor is getting your first break. I'm a product of nepotism. The doors were open to me. I'd done several movies before I decided what I wanted to do.

I couldn't get an acting job to save my life when I moved to L.A.

I'm not being offered a constant stream of wonderful parts with wonderful directors that would keep me away from the theatre. When they turn up, I do them.

I really always felt that I was going to be an actress. I had a lot of confidence in the fact that I would do well from a very early age. I didn't know how tough the business is.

If you're a young actor, unless you're on a very short list at the studios, we have to be very creative about moving your career along. Otherwise, all we can do is hope to get lucky and find that perfect role that pops you into stardom.

I was not a child star. I was more like a young auditioner.

Being an actor can be a lonely life.

As an actor, it's hard to get work. Sometimes you have to make do with the jobs that you get.

One of the big struggles for an actor is sometimes you have to take work that you don't necessarily want to do so you can pay rent.

I told my parents I wanted an agent, and they decided to let me have a go at it. Then I started working right away. I was 12.

When I'm in Los Angeles, sometimes I hesitate saying that I'm an actor because people are like, 'Of course you are.' And I'm like 'No,' not, 'Of course I am.' In L.A., being an actor is like a pastime: everybody there is like, 'I was on this reality show; I'm an actor.' It becomes a word that is loosely thrown around.

Within a five-month period, I got 'Weeds,' 'Supernatural,' and 'Grey's.' I think a lot of it had to do with luck.

I've sort of left the theater just for little shoots here and there - little one-off series or small roles in films or whatever.

When we were shooting 'Oz,' my wife was doing 'Beauty and the Beast' on Broadway, singing and dancing. It was an interesting dichotomy in our house.

I nearly died twice after I replaced Michael Crawford in 'EFX.'

The normal state of an actor is unemployed.