Ellen Muth Quotes

My greatest value derived from the fact that I had access to almost everybody.

At one point, you start wondering if being talented in Bollywood is enough, or you need connections.

I've been fortunate - I haven't had too many auditions. I slept with the right people.

I can pretty much call anyone, whether at the White House, in a company or in the media. I have access, because of the silliness of the entertainment world and how people react to it. It gave me an enormous opportunity to do anything I really want to.

It's good to keep in mind that prominence is always a mix of hard work, eloquence in your practice, good timing and fortuitous social relations. Everything can't be personalized.

The thing that helped me get into the film business was that I went to school in Athens, Georgia and managed to get on, um, working on music videos for a band called R.E.M. and that kind of opened up a lot of doors for me.

When it comes down to it, it's about who you know, and who's a fan. It's about whether you're the right age, whether you're hot or not, whether the studio is into you or not.

I think the reason why we were able to actually get it made was that we were so extremely naive - we had no experience at all here. We didn't even know that you were supposed to have an agent. We didn't even have a lawyer. We didn't know one soul.

You should get as close to the power when you're pitching something. I got my two biggest breaks with the man who owned CBS and the guy that owned Paramount, because I was dealing with the guy who would say yes or no.

In life it wasn't what you know, but who you know. I had people who were trying to buy teams and had they bought the teams, I would have gotten to coach because they wanted me to coach. But the people who have the teams hire their friends.

I spend a lot of my time on the phone, pestering people. 'What's new in your lab? Can I come visit your lab? When can I come visit your lab?' I'm basically a professional pesterer.

A lot of show business, as you know, is about all the contacts you make and who you know.

I've always been, with acting, very hesitant to get myself into situations where I would be accused of nepotism.

I've done a lot of pilots. A lot of shows. You're young and you do a job just because you know someone gave you a job.

Human connection is the way things work. It's like a patronage system. You know somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows the district governor, and it's okay.

Ultimately, I think it's just going to get you that exposure, get you in that door, get you that recognition that will hopefully get you opportunities.

Too often, people get jobs based on who they know - not what they know.

It's one thing to be talented, but the other thing is connections - with agents, with people; that's what makes a difference, and from the beginning, I've had wonderful representation.

Everyone has opportunities and different doors that are opened to them in different ways. In the end, if you're talented you'll get work, if you're not, you won't, so it doesn't really matter who you know.

I always look at auditions as not even getting the job as much as I'm just trying to connect with this casting director so they remember me for next time.

Star kids always get an upper hand at the start of their career. People in the industry often know them from the time they were toddlers, so they show support to them when their film is about to release.

Even after choreographing some big numbers, I didn't qualify as the top choreographer. You need to have godfathers and big people to support you for others to take you seriously.

I started my career in Hollywood, where I learned the rumors were true - having success there really was dictated by how who you knew, not what you knew. I grew frustrated by the fact that careers could be made and broken by relationships alone.

I've certainly never used my father's name as a way of getting a meeting. And fortunately, I've never needed to.

The world doesn't reward talent, it mostly rewards those who are connected.