I always wanted to be a good actress and a serious actress. I wasn't in the profession to, quote-unquote, meet the stars.
— Carol Kane
I think most actors are very impressionable, and that's part of what we do is soak up other's behavior.
I guess I'm lucky in that I started working very young in all three of the mediums. I started in stage first, and then I moved into film, also very young, and when I did 'Taxi,' for instance, it was live in front of an audience but also filmed; that was a fun combination.
I didn't know I wanted to go into entertainment, but I knew I wanted to be on stage when I was about seven. I saw a play, like most kids do, at a children's theater in Cleveland, and I just saw them up there, and I thought, 'that's where I want to be.'
The thing about the four-camera shows is that it's kind of a great combo of theater and film. You have an audience, but you have a camera to capture things, so that's a great thing, too.
There's nothing obvious or predictable in acting. That's what it means to be in this profession.
If I had not made strategic choices, I would have had far more access to dramatic roles. But the one thing I don't regret, even about bad choices, is that there's always something you can get out of it.
In high school, I did the 'The Tempest' at Lincoln Center for Joe Papp.
A goal of mine is to try and be as real as possible. To try and not comment on the work I'm doing but just do it.
'Hester Street' was an incredible opportunity for me. That script was such an incredible script.
All of my films have changed my life. I've met so many people and broadened my world view.
This profession has no rhythm to it - you're either busy enough to fall down, or nothing's happening!
For very few people is there a time when you, quote unquote, make it.
It's like life: you have both comedy and drama. There's a balance, and I'm lucky enough to have it in my work.
I'm one of those people that if I go to a party, I can't remember my mother's name because I'm so nervous in a social situation.
If they give you good words to say, and you don't get in the way of them, you'll be OK.
There are directors who don't cast you for the way you act but for the way you are, the way you behave around the dinner table.
Buses and subways are this remarkable social club. You talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to.
I was taught by a lot of great comedy writers to go for the reality in a role, and the comedy will come through.
You can fake a lot of stuff, but you can't fake if the story isn't there and if the writing isn't good.
You just can't make bad writing look good. But if you have good writing, you just say it, and it's almost done.
I think therapy can be very revealing and useful for actors. You start to dig deep and understand certain mechanisms that you hadn't been aware of before and, you know, meanings behind things.
In my experience, each project is what it is, and nothing is necessarily a turning point.
When I had my dogs, I used to spend a lot of time in Central Park, which is a great place to be alone among a lot of people.
In my job, I worry a lot and try and stay calm and open. It sometimes works.
I don't think, 'Oh, you know, I'm crazy and zany.'
If I had the science and math capabilities, I would have liked to be a vet, but I don't! I don't have those capabilities.
'Hester Street' was my most complete character study, but 'Annie Hall' and 'The Last Detail' were also great.
As I get older, I start to look back at the field that I've crossed and realize that it was a mine field.
Life is very cyclical. And my career has been very-high-very-low, very-high-very-low, and I think it'll probably keep on rolling that way.
I like the full spectrum of roles.
I want to be Geraldine Page; I want to be one of the greats.
All of our ancestors came from somewhere.
This is a grueling profession. Either you can't get work, or you can't get certain kinds of parts, or you get a part, and it kills you because it's not good enough, or you get successful and feel guilty about it.
While filming 'Annie Hall,' I never really hung out with Woody Allen.
I don't like to objectify the people I play. I always try to go for the truth in any part.
My preference is for really good writing, and I just really don't care where it is.
I just love the black and white movies.
New York, to me, even though I grew up here, there's something magical about it. I remember, every time I used to go to L.A. for work, when I'd come back and get off the plane and be driving towards the landscape of the city, I'd be beside myself with joy. It doesn't matter how many times!
I don't regret what I've done but some of the things I didn't do.
I am a very simple cook, I just do the minimum amount. I'm mostly a vegetarian, so I just steam a lot of vegetables.
I don't like somebody saying to me in their performance, 'Look at this. Isn't this funny?' I pray that I don't do that. I'm sure I fall off the horse every once in a while, but I try not to.
For me, the most important thing is the writing - and certainly the director. But if the writing isn't there, it doesn't matter who the director is!
I try to construct some kind of backstory for my character so that I have an idea of the life of that character - not just from the moment when the scene starts, but from before.
I've been lucky in my career. I've worked with some of the greatest filmmakers and actors around. I'm so proud of some of my work.
I happen to think I look best in black.
I think it's nourishing to do both comedy and drama.
I started acting young, and I was a dramatic actress.
I know that I'm in the minority to be able to keep working all these years. But I want more!
My first movie was with Mike Nichols.
