Many times, when a director reads a script and wants somebody who says 'Far out', then they let me do what I want with it and that's usually more interesting for an actor.
— Katherine Helmond
I'd really like to show women my age - who've had children grow up or lost husbands or retired after working all their lives - that there are options. There are choices. We don't have to just sit around and be invisible.
I went to Catholic school. Do as you're told; don't ask questions and you will be illuminated.
I was very lucky with 'Soap' and 'Who's the Boss,' which was great fun, and then went on 'Coach' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' I've been truly blessed, and the work has all been fun and a joy.
The choice of roles as I grow older gets more and more limited, so if I pin myself to one kind of part I would get in trouble. So, these oddball ladies came along for me to do - I guess Terry Gilliam helped in this respect. I have found them more interesting, flashier and I get more mileage out of them.
I was never ambitious to be a good actor. I just love doing it and I seem to be quite suited for it.
A director recommended me for the role on 'Soap.' They said, 'She plays heavy roles, murderesses and the like.' He said, 'On stage, she could be very very funny.'
Women have been brought up to be passive, accepting, not come forward and play a major role in life. And with age, there's a tendency to revert to that - to pull back, recede. I don't think it's advisable or admirable.
I had TB as a child. So I was put to doing things like drawing and reading. And I was raised in a family where manners were important. Maybe that's why I seem so refined.
I grew up hearing about the walking undead. I had a fascination with it as a child.
