Imelda Staunton Quotes

After 2000 or so, I started to realize I wanted to be doing something else. I didn't want to be in front of a camera. I was frustrated. I didn't think I would stop acting, but I didn't want to be seen.

The time to realize that you need to transition out of your job is when you know that you've grown out of the role that you were doing before.

I was working at a phone company. I got tired of my life and wanted to change it, so I did.

I could easily not act again. It's not a problem.

When I made the decision to stop working regionally and just focus on being in New York, part of the reason that instigated that choice was a desire to work on new plays and know what it was to originate a part.

After doing this, going away, trying other things and working on other shows, this character, and working within Days of Our Lives, has been one of the most enjoyable experiences in my career.

I don't want to play fat cops for the rest of my life.

The only work I did for the next five years after splitting from Vincent was work I'd already lined up.

A rule of thumb: If the company you work for provides a product or service that's pretty much the same as what was offered last year and a few years before that, it might be time to start looking for something new.

I first came to London as a musician, and when my group broke up, I did 'Guys and Dolls' at the Watford Palace theatre. After that, Ned Sherrin found me and brought me to the West End to do one of his shows. The work went from strength to strength, so I thought: 'This is where the world wants me; I'll stay.'

The impetus behind going to graduate school was a year after graduating from college spent in Dallas working at the dog food factory and Bank America and not having met success in my chosen field, which at that point was being an actress.

Five years is a long time to play one part.

I was supposed to go to drama school and then go to New York and do theatre. But I grew up on all those fabulous movies and had read all the bold Hollywood books, and I thought I just had to take a look.

I'm definitely in a place where I'm looking for different than what I've done in the past, just so I can go to work and do something I haven't done before.

After graduating from college I worked at a variety of jobs, from banking to politics. I enjoyed whatever I was doing at the time but I didn't love my work.

I've been sort of coasting on 'Peep Show.' So now it's kind of, 'When I grow up, I'm going to have to be an actor if I'm not careful.'

Now, I am perfectly willing to just enjoy my career by choosing roles simply because I consider them to be a challenge and doing the best possible job I can.

I got my Equity card at 24 at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and they asked me to join the company. I was content and happy working in the company there for a long while until I really started to feel as if I hit a bit of a glass ceiling artistically.

I was thrust, excitingly, via 'Elizabeth' and 'Shakespeare in Love,' into a position one can only dream of, but it was startling, too. I was offered a multitude of roles riding horses in flouncy shirts, and I just thought, 'Hang on, I've just done that. What next?'

After a two-year stint at Cheek by Jowl theatre company in London, I put all my energies into breaking into New York's theatre scene. It took me eight years to build enough to play lead roles.

When I graduated from UCLA, I actually started interviewing for banking jobs. But at some point I realized a career in banking felt more like a continuation of school than a passion.

When work starts feeling too comfortable, fire yourself; go get another job.

I wanted to quit acting and as soon as I decided that, the call for 'Velvet Buzzsaw' came through.

I did modelling for five years, then I felt I wanted to do something different and challenging.

Basically... I think moving abroad would be good for my professional and personal well-being. Eventually, I'd like to leave the Bundesliga.