Illeana Douglas Quotes

I think you just have to take everything that happens on a TV show with a grain of salt. You sign up for a show for six years having zero idea where they're going to go with the character, so you just have to get on the ride of the show and go with wherever they take you.

The thing about TV is it's a meritocracy. I love that aspect of it - and I've had shows that have gone on the air and been canceled. I've seen the good and the bad of it.

That first year I was doing 'Grey's,' I didn't know it was possible to fire the creator of a show off their own show, so I didn't behave like somebody who was afraid of being fired.

That was mandatory in the contract with Aaron Spelling, that if you were contracted to do one of his shows, you had to do any other shows that were his.

I had no regrets when I did it, I have even less regret now because I can't imagine staying on the West Wing show and then, six weeks later, Aaron Sorkin leaving.

In the industry, I got a lot of attention for 'Mad Men,' because everyone in the industry watches it.

Being on a successful show is kind of like being a sea turtle. Every year, sea turtles lay hundreds and hundreds of eggs, but only a few manage to survive and mature. It's the same with TV pilots. There are so many great ideas, but for whatever reason only the lucky ones get picked up.

When you do a film, you know you're shooting for 6 or 9 weeks, you've got your cast and crew. Overall, no one can just pull the plug and say, 'This isn't working.' There's just no security on television, especially for African Americans. It's a tough market.

In the '90s, you couldn't say the word 'nerd' to someone when pitching a show. They would have considered that too niche and wouldn't have listened.

From an actor's point of view, you never really like to hope that anything will go beyond the pilot. I'd always say to my agent every time I filmed a pilot, 'Great! Well, I'll see you at pilot season.'

I don't want to find myself at the age of 60 waiting by the telephone for someone else to decide if I am capable of being in what might be a crummy TV production.

When I started 'Hudson Hawk,' I realized I was dealing with a strong-willed producer, a strong-willed actor, and, at times, a strong-willed studio, and I was the junior partner in all of this - the guy who hadn't proven anything in terms of box-office success.

Before 'Entourage,' I couldn't get a sitcom.

TV is very much a producer and writer or creator-driven machine in the States. And I'm the kind of actor that needs to be pushed and have someone on my case a little bit, so I suffer from that.

They're naughty, all those writers - they mess around with people. I know James Gandolfini got a bit fed up on 'The Sopranos': if he said anything in front of a writer, told them a story from his life, it could make its way into the script.

Television is a very writer-driven business, and it's one of the few parts of entertainment where writers are treated with respect, only because they need you. If they didn't have to treat you with respect, they would be happy to dismiss you.

There are so many people in film and television that get between a performer and the audience, and that's frustrating.

When actors give their input, it can be very ego-driven, and directors are scared of that.

In the TV world, we are seeing a lot more power going to the writer. I sense it is a writer's medium.

Before 'New Girl,' I had just been grinding in TV for a really long time. I had been testing for so many shows and not getting them. You don't know how difficult it is or how lucky you have to be - and I only say lucky because there are so many people out there - to get a show on the air and keep it going.

I was in 'Goodwin Games,' which was canceled, and a few other things, so I kind of swore off television unless I was writing or producing it.

I came of age as a male lead actor just as the TV landscape dramatically shifted.

When I was on 'Trauma,' the first order was six, which turned to 12, and then there were rumors of getting cancelled. I'm used to that.

I've sold shows based on my standup twice to CBS, but they've never gone past the script stage. TV is very competitive.

Being on a TV show is a really good gig for an actor.