Tea Leoni Quotes

I'm in a complete state of panic before I begin something because I'm sure that it's going to be a complete disaster. I'm going to do a worse job than anybody could ever imagine anybody doing on the planet Earth.

In a way, I'm always trying to do something I'm not qualified to do. So I feel that lack of qualification. And I'm scared. And I have a tendency to think things may not/probably won't work out. That's my basic mindset.

I'm afraid that I won't do a good job when I go into an audition.

If you feel uncomfortable on stage, you can very easily descend into a sort of abyss, convinced you're the worst actor ever, that you're a disgrace to the profession, that you're a disgrace to yourself. It's an awful feeling.

I feel like I'm not smart enough to answer the questions I'm asked.

I'm hugely negative, so if a joke doesn't land it takes me a long time to get over it. If something doesn't go well I go dark in my head. Basically I start thinking it should be illegal for me to be doing comedy.

Pressure is self-doubt when you're unprepared.

I think I failed miserably on NewsRadio. I was very nervous because of the caliber of the cast - especially Dave Foley - so I think I did a terrible job.

There is always a point when one senses one's lack of skill, the doubt.

I've always done the safest thing, which is to assume that it's going to feel like that, to assume that you're going to feel like a freshman in a group of seniors - if you expect the worst, then it's never going to be that bad.

I'm usually convinced that what I'm working on is a total disaster.

I always feel scared and insecure on a film set. I don't know any other way.

Anything you can suck at should make you nervous.

I think my biggest flaw is my insecurity. I'm terribly insecure. I'm plagued with insecurities 24/7.

I'm always very scared when I start a movie because I never know if I'm going to be able to do a good job or do a very bad job.

I don't even know why I'm saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I'm not good enough for some reason. I wish that wasn't the case, but left to my own devices, that voice starts speaking up.

I'm always nervous before starting a record because I can never sleep. I'm like, 'I have no good ideas, everyone is gonna see through me.'

I was always self-conscious about the fact that I didn't have as much comedy experience as other people at 'SNL,' and I kept thinking they were going to realize they'd made a mistake by hiring me.

My biggest fear is that I'm not good enough. I have this voice in my head that I've been battling for years that says, 'You're not really talented enough. You don't really deserve this.'

I'm horrible at auditions anyway. Maybe that's why I never got anything.

It's almost like the better I do, the more my feeling of inadequacy actually increases, because I'm just going, 'Any moment, someone's going to find out I'm a total fraud, and that I don't deserve any of what I've achieved. I can't possibly live up to what everyone thinks I am and what everyone's expectations of me are.'

For the first six or eight months at Juilliard I felt paralysed. I didn't know what I was doing.

Every time I looked in the mirror, it was like, 'You're not good enough.' 'There's always someone more popular.' 'There's always someone more gifted in music.'

The minute you get cast, you worry they've made the most terrible mistake. There's a really awkward stage between being hired and doing the job when it doesn't feel real.

At every premiere, I stand in the back, I never sit, worrying. And then maybe I hear them laugh or whatever, and the muscles unclench a little. But always, I feel like it's a fluke, that I'll never be able to do it again.