I play a girl called Patti in the film 'Patti Cake$,' and she's a girl from New Jersey, and she dreams of being a famous rapper.
— Danielle Macdonald
I wanted to go overseas and act. I wanted to be an actor in an industry that isn't necessarily the most inclusive for anybody different.
People say things unintentionally, not realizing that it could hurt someone's feelings because they've just never experienced what you have.
When you rap, you're using all of yourself.
When you find out you're working with someone like Jennifer Aniston, you're like, 'Whoa, what is my life right now? ' It kind of doesn't really seem real. I grew up watching 'Friends' and all her movies, and I was so excited to work with her. And then, I met her, and I was like, 'Oh. You're, like, a very relatable human being.'
I had to work at it - audition and fail, get things and lose others. If you really want something, you keep going.
Honestly, a lot of the time the character roles are the best roles.
My sister, myself, and my cousins would put on shows for our parents and charge them to come and watch, apparently. That's what I'm told. My parents said I knew how to milk it.
You don't have to be scared of what other people are thinking. You don't need to feel judged by other people.
I always like auditioning because it's like, 'Oh, my God, I have an audition - yay!' It means opportunity for work, which is great. But it's scary as well, because you put so much pressure on yourself.
One of the cool things about 'Patti Cake$' is that it is about someone that is against stereotype.
You can drive your own self crazy. You don't have to be in a bad situation or be bullied every day to feel this way. I was constantly judging myself. That's really the thing that gets you.
I can't sing.
I have a dog and a cat, and they are best friends.
I think you have to try and fail a little bit, because you learn how badly you want it.
Because I don't look like most lead actresses look, I was told that I shouldn't even come to America. That I shouldn't even try! I think that's ridiculous.
I'm very lucky with my family. They've always been very encouraging, and they never thought that anything would hold me back. I'm very fortunate to have had that.
I didn't know how to be cool. I didn't know how to have swag.
The only thing is, I'm terrified of horror movies. I'm scared - I'm admitting it! I mean, I would still do a horror movie; I just probably wouldn't be able to watch it.
Growing up, you see movies, and the big person is always the butt of a joke or the funny best friend, or they lose weight, and that's when they become redeemable.
I love Disney movies.
There aren't often plus size, very real normal women in film. It's never their story.
I think avocado toast is the best ever. It's my favorite.
I'm very competitive. I'm very honest, too, so I wouldn't cut anyone down to get ahead. I play fair, but I like to win.
I had agents in Australia; I just never had any auditions. And if you can't audition, then you can't work. I studied there. I did classes there. I learned how to act. Growing up there, I discovered my love for acting, but I just wasn't getting the opportunities to work professionally.
The cool thing about being different in this industry is that you get different roles; you aren't pigeonholed the same way.
The most surprising thing - and the thing I really didn't think I would have an opportunity to do when I was younger - was I didn't realize the kind of roles I would be able to play. I thought it would be, like, two lines here, the joke.
How many people get to say they recorded a song with Dolly Parton and Jennifer Aniston?
There aren't plus-sized teens represented in film who aren't made the butt of a joke.
I think confidence comes with age and experience, honestly.
It definitely took me a while to adjust to L.A. I came out knowing nobody, and I'd never lived away from home before.
None of my family is in the industry. But I watched movies like an insane person when I was a child. I used to make my dad stop at the video store every time we drove past it, and you had to drive past the video store to get to our house.
It's okay to be you and okay to be who you are and okay to love and accept yourself.
Actually, for me, it's really funny because I play characters with mommy issues more than anything, and I have a great relationship with my mom!
Diversity is just 'the world.' It's different cultures, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different religions, genders, sexual orientation, shapes, sizes. That is the world, but we call it 'diversity' because there is this one type that has always been accepted in the media, and it's finally starting to change.
My mom is Italian, and her whole family still lives in Italy. My dad is Australian, and his family lives in Australia, so we were raised there.
Words are just words. They only bother you if you let them.
It would be really cool to have some more roles where it doesn't matter how a character looks. You get a script, you see it, and it doesn't matter: there's no description of how the character looks in any way shape or form; it's just, whoever is right for the role is the person.
I think we all go through those moments of self-doubt.
I'm not musical in any way.
I have a dartboard in my place, and I play with my friends.
Emma Watson was a super-starstruck moment.
Don't stress out about the things you can't control.
I'm pretty stubborn.
The big message is, you're the star in your own life. You don't have to change; you are who you are. Go and do what you want to do.
It's just so hard growing up: you go through things, especially acting - I go to a different set every couple of months, and you meet an entirely new group of people that are around you 24/7. It's not an easy situation to go into when you're a shy person.
Not everybody gets to travel halfway around the world to see a whole different perspective. If we can see that on TV, we'll know that society is bigger than the small world we all live in.
I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and I started doing acting classes when I was in eighth grade.
I'm a realist - yes, I know: darn, I'm unlikely to have a love scene with Chris Hemsworth anytime soon, if ever. But I also believe that persistence and hard work pays off.
I've seen a bunch of movies about pageants, and I know in general how they work.
