success in acting Quotes

An actor's career relies on a lot of luck. Being in the right place at the right time.

I want to be known as a desirable actress who can perform - that's something I strive to be.

If I'd made it right away as an actor, I would've stopped at a certain level and stayed there, probably as a character actor.

Acting forces you to ask yourself, 'Can my constitution take a decade of constant rejection?' And after ten years, you either make it or you don't. And the problem is they don't tell you in advance.

Being an actor is like winning the lottery. It's not really about your talent, it's right time, right place, right face.

It was always that I finished one movie and then had no idea what I was doing. I think there's a limited amount of planning you can do, at least in the position I'm in. Maybe more successful actors can plan more than I'm able to.

When I found myself in that situation - that actors are like children, I tried to be successful. And when it worked and I figured out how to communicate that things were good - or at least okay - then I felt pleased.

I was 16 when I quit gymnastics and decided to start acting. I started booking immediately after. I was very lucky and fortunate, but I also did the hard work. Half of it's hard work and half of it's luck. It's been working out so far. Fingers crossed for the future.

Perhaps I have managed some sort of longevity because I haven't won the lead roles.

There are so many dramatic actors where I would give all of my anything to have their careers, but I don't think I can try to follow anyone.

That's one of the challenges of acting. You can't expect that you're going to be successful, but you've got to put your heart and everything you have into it. Look at a guy like Ian McKellen, who is eighty or whatever, and he's just loving his work and you can see that in the work. That defines what type of actor you are. And what kind of people want to work with you. And whether you can do this job for a long, long time.

As an actor, you deal with so much rejection and humiliation. When the good things come around, you tend not to trust your instincts.

It doesn't matter if you're good. If you're just good, you won't succeed. If you have patience and persistence and talent and that's it, you will not have a successful career as an actor. The elusive thing you need is luck.

I've been in the industry long enough now - I've been a working actor since 2002. I'm very aware that at some point, I won't be as successful as I am now, so I'm enjoying it. I know that there will be points where it's not going as well, and I'm prepared for that.