Claire Coffee Quotes

The first time I went to Hollywood, I was 25 years old. My background was mostly Italian.

I had two jobs coming out of school: I did a play, 'The Great White Hope.' I played the boxer Jack Johnson. And I was the lead in this indie film. Then I moved to Los Angeles because New York was cold and it was really too quiet for me at that time. I was out of school; I was hungry. The auditions were trickling in, and I was antsy and ready to go.

I eventually became an actor, starting with doing stand-up comedy in New York and then theater wherever they would let me. Finally, I moved out here to Los Angeles and got on a show.

The original 'Star Wars' that I was a part of really was the beginning of my working life.

At a very young age, I was in Germany watching TV and I told my mom I wanted to be an actor. She said, 'Go for it.' When my dad retired from the military, we moved to Los Angeles, and it all kicked off.

My first job was a McDonald's commercial. It made me want to wake up at 4 A.M. to do something I loved. I haven't been the same since.

I don't know if it's a romantic comedy but I'm in the beginning of the first of the season of 'The West Wing.' We shot it last year. I don't know. If anyone asks me to be in one, I'll jump on it.

I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with an English literature degree and travelled for a year before going to work.

I got the first thing I auditioned for - a guest role on two episodes on 'All Saints,' and I don't think I had ever been that excited.

I've called myself an actor - I won't say I've been an actor, but I've called myself an actor - since 1989. That's when I moved to Los Angeles.

The first time I ever actually had a line was on 'A Different World', my best friend Cree Summer's show. I was in L.A. visiting her, and she said, 'Hey, there's a walk-on part, why don't you audition for it?'

'Fatal Vision' was basically the first thing I did on camera.

Gavin Lambert was the first person in the movie business my wife and I met when we moved to Los Angeles in 1964.

I moved to L.A. when I was 17 and started making movies six months later.

I got a job as a coat check girl at a nightclub - this was in my first few months of being in L.A.

When I was hired to 'SNL,' I was 25 years old.

When I was barely 21, I was making my Pride debut. That was at the beginning of my career.

Well, I moved to Washington, D.C. when I was just fresh out of college.

Los Angeles has been great to me, and I have a home there, and I'm so lucky I get to do what I do for a living. But I did not go down to Los Angeles really even with the intention of staying.

'Crashing' was my first scripted TV gig.

I wanted to have the no. 1 show on the Discovery channel. I went for it for a very long time, and I was knocking on every door in L.A. that would answer, and sleeping in front of Discovery's office, probably. It wasn't working, so I decided to regroup and take a break from knocking on doors.

To me, 'Glee' is totally fantastic.

A TV series is a long commitment.

When I was up in Washington state, I always thought, 'I'm going to go to Los Angeles where films are made and stories are told, and they're going to love me and welcome me with open arms.' But, there was no welcoming committee.

I went to Columbia film school; that's where I met Matthew Weisman. We then became writing partners, graduated, and moved out to Los Angeles. I didn't know a soul.