Role Expansion Quotes

Anytime you have an opportunity as an actor to really grow along with your character, I think that's a real gift.

Over my lifetime, women have demonstrated repeatedly that they can do anything that men can do, while still managing traditional women's work at the same time. But the same expansion of roles has not been available to men.

I'm not just a time triallist any more.

Kai was my longest arc that I had done on a show, so it was a big step forward to me.

I would like to play a mother or a pregnant woman. My body of work can expand because I like challenges. I think I could play male roles. I don't limit myself.

I knew at the time that that wasn't the part I would be doing, they just wanted a screentest so they could have a look at it to show to the directors and producers. Then they wrote a part for me or maybe they already had it in mind, I don't know.

It's one of the things, certainly for me, anyway: I'm learning to take a bigger role in the things that I'm associated with.

For an actor, playing one character and transitioning to a completely different one is a dream come true.

Even if I weren't learning new roles and getting the opportunity to be coached by incredible people, I still think I would be so excited to have an opportunity to continue to push myself and grow, as an artist.

One thing I tend to do is ask actors tons and tons of questions to try to get at what they're thinking but also to expose to them whatever box they've placed their characters in - to blow up that box so the journey can begin.

I wish I would have had more to do in the film. I hated to get killed so soon.

All of a sudden I was Joan [Mad Man] and they're going, "Oh, so she plays a badass in this." And I'm like, "Oh my god, I get to play badasses." Firefly was a little bit of that, but she started out as a mouse and then she turned into a dragon. But I never really had that opportunity. So all of a sudden people were like, "Oh, do you feel like you're being typecast?" I would say, "No, this is just opening the doors." No one thought I could do it and someone finally trusted me to do it.

I built a career on my archetype, and I'm grateful, but I'm trying to stretch.

Well, I play Jews and parrots. Parrots are how I've branched out.

It isn't often I get a part that enables me to play someone from the age of 13 up to 81.

I found it very easy to transform into creeps and weirdos and losers and goof-balls, and I'm happy to play eccentric kinds of characters, and I have a great affinity for the outsider, but I definitely am about expanding my range as well.

What's interesting about playing Maura is that I get to use more of Jeffrey that I've ever used in any role, and I think that's the remarkable part about it and truly the most surprising part about doing this role.

The more you're out there singing, learning, and adding roles to your repertoire, it reforms the next piece.

It strengthens the acting muscles to tap into other parts of yourself. When you can accomplish something that's unexpected, for you as well as the audience, that's really important. It's also very important if you want people considering you for other projects to broaden their view of you.

I feel that a lot of roles in television can really typecast someone as one type of actor or playing one type of role, but I really don't think that my role in 'Weeds' did at all.

Every other agency involved in foreign affairs jealously guards its prerogatives whenever State makes the slightest movement to broaden its role.

I always think that trying to push yourself as an actor in a direction that you've never been before, developing characters which are more difficult to get into the head of, or are more interesting and further away from yourself, is always a challenge.

If you sat down and you wrote a script, you may write something that's way beyond what you've ever seen me do, but if you thought of me to do it, I would be flattered to be asked to do something other than be wise.

The only options open for girls then were of course mother, secretary or teacher. At least that's what we all thought and were preparing ourselves for. Now, I must say how lucky we are, as women, to live in an age where 'Dental Hygienist' has been added to the list.

I was only used to 4-3-3. For me as a left-winger you have also a left midfielder and a left-back behind you. But in a 4-4-2 you are basically also the left midfielder so you have to help more in defence and I wasn't used to that.