Michele Lee Quotes

I was too shy to be in films. But, my father thought it would work for me. It took a lot of time for me to think about getting into films.

I find the roller-coaster ride of auditioning most challenging. It's always about putting yourself out there, being rejected, and then getting back out there and trying again.

We're not an acting family, but my parents have always encouraged me.

I remember lying in bed one night when I was 15 and deciding I was ready to go into acting properly. I'd put it off until then because I didn't feel I was ready to handle the rejections.

Came to acting pretty late. It looked wonderful, but I guess I was intimidated by my father. I look a bit like him, and he was so much bigger than life and so great, it took me a bit longer than most people to have enough confidence in myself.

I fell into acting because I was really shy, and so at night after work, I took public speaking and improv classes, and I started going to auditions sort of as a dare. That was my version of 'Fear Factor.'

God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.'

My mom was incredibly supportive when she found out that I wanted to be an actress, and that certainly made things easier and more fun.

I auditioned for 'Game of Thrones' seven times! Loads of times.

Everyone has a different path. I knew no one in the acting industry growing up. I never did a play until college. I was not outspoken when I was younger and I hated being the center of attention. But I had a dream of being an actor. I went to NYU and studied theatre. I learned a craft. And began my career straight out of college.

I was always a closet lover of acting. My mom was very practical. She never, ever restricted our dreams, always told us we could do or be anything. Then I said, 'Maybe I want to be an actor'. And she said, 'Maybe not that'.

Even though momentarily I thought about being a doctor, I was always involved in theatre and did a drama degree. I just didn't have the guts to go, 'Yes, I'm going to be an actor,' until I was probably 21.

You know, my parents have always been incredibly supportive. I'm an only child, so we're very close. There's just the three of us. They're exceptional parents but also great friends. My father was able to take his hobby, photography, and turn it into a beautiful career. So when they saw how much I loved acting, they were 100 percent behind me.

I'm lucky I had parents willing to be open and believe that an 11-year-old might know what she wanted to do. Or maybe they thought I'd find out that's what I didn't want to do.

I've gone skydiving twice. I was terrified about doing it, but I wanted to overcome that. The first time, I did it with my parents and I remember that they had already both jumped out, and suddenly it was my turn. And I thought, 'Well, I don't want to be an orphan,' so I guess I have no choice, and I jumped out of the plane.

I always knew that the only thing I wanted to do was act, but it took me a long time to say it out loud to anyone, let alone myself. I am surprised by how dogged I have been in wanting to make a living as a respected actress.

I was not athletically inclined. I was very quiet, introverted, non-confrontational. My three older brothers were athletes - basketball, football - but I was kind of a momma's boy. Then one day, my brother Roger encouraged me to go to the boxing gym with him. I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural.

I always wanted to be an actor, but with a speech impediment it's kind of tough. I decided to roll the dice and take an acting class, which was very, very nerve-wracking... my stomach would just be in knots.

My parents never pressured me except to advise me against acting.

I was a swimsuit model, and I got bored. Acting was challenging. It was very hard and intimidating. We choose to do things in life sometimes that scare the crap outta us. Performing in front of people was my challenge.

I think I've been brought up very well by both my parents. I am very cautious and I think I'm now fit for the world I'm in. They're very much behind my modelling and very supportive.

I wasn't like, 'I want to be famous.' I just wanted to be an actor. I wasn't chasing anything. I was never stressed or worried. I never had any fear of rejection or not making it, anything like that.

When moms and dads put their kids in acting class, good luck. Because you're just filling them with stuff they don't need yet.

You need to develop, somehow, a huge amount of faith and confidence in yourself, because there's a lot of rejection throughout an actor's life and you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else.

I hope that more children have the same opportunities as me, with the same parents as me, that let me be an individual, who gave me freedom, and taught me to believe in myself before anyone else would believe in me.