Madeline Zima Quotes

I have no shortage of material or offers, it's just a case of what you select to do. But I think it's realistic that my chances of playing Romeo are now over.

My husband calls it winging it - the way I just took what the studios gave me, didn't do my homework and avoided roles that would risk my image.

There are times when I don't take roles because I don't want to be perceived a certain way.

I think that the more success you have as an actor, I think, the greatest advantage of being successful as an actor or being in this business is that you have the chance to pick and choose, or you have people coming to you with a much more different variety of roles.

I don't have an agenda where I do a comedy and say, 'I have to do a drama next,' or 'I am looking for an action movie now.'

I don't think you can discriminate against budgets, you know? I'm an actor, I guess, so I'm just trying to play as many characters as I can. If there's a character I think I can play, and they're going to let me do it, I'll do it whether it's $10 or $1 million or more.

Let's say you would see me in a lot more big movies had I done movies that I'd been asked to do playing bad guys. Now that I have a child on the way, I think that you'll probably be seeing me play more bad guys. If that's what's going to put bread on the table, that's what I'm going to be doing.

There are some roles you just don't say 'no' to. Those compass points: you get them so rarely as an actress.

I don't have anything saying, 'I'm going to do this many new films, and this many comedies.' But, it's always exciting for me, whenever it is a new character and something I haven't done before, and that's part of what draws me to it.

I'm a working actress able to make choices based on characters rather than what I 'should' do for my career.

It would have shown people that I was prepared to do that kind of work, although I find myself in a position now where I don't really need to and I could pick and choose the kind of characters I'd like to do.

I have no illusions of being the big box office draw. But I would like to have some choices.

But actors at a certain point take the best of what's available to them.

I know that some of the characters I played were trash. But then, I chose to take up those roles, as I enjoyed doing them.

What's been nice is that I've been able to direct from a very idealistic place. I've never had to make my living as a director, which gave me a chance to choose material I feel passionate about. The directing allows me to not have to grab any acting role that comes along. I can pick and choose a little bit.

For me, choice is the most important thing because I'm going to be an adult actor pretty soon. So I've got to be choosing the right roles now so that by the time I get to that age there will be wide options available.

Very few movies I've done I regret being involved in.

In the States, you have a little bit of freedom to audition for different kinds of roles.

The choice of roles as I grow older gets more and more limited, so if I pin myself to one kind of part I would get in trouble. So, these oddball ladies came along for me to do - I guess Terry Gilliam helped in this respect. I have found them more interesting, flashier and I get more mileage out of them.

My whole career strategy has been to build a base so that I could take the roles I want to play. I'd hate to think that a shorter part might not be available because I was worried about my billing.

I'm not auditioning to play convenience-store clerks. I don't see any benefit in that.

I love being able to change from big films to small films.

It's funny - sometimes people think we, as actors, have this wide range of choices of the roles we're doing, and in a lot of ways, when you're a younger actor, or just if you want to make a living in the business, you take your opportunities where they come.

I haven't been an actor who's been able to pick and choose roles, and being a family man, it's been about putting food on the table.

I've been fortunate, I guess: I've gotten to play a lot of very diverse roles for quite a long time. But in the beginning, I was thinking, 'I'm not gonna do certain characters. I will be willing to say no and live on a couch.' And I was really happy.