The physical environment of L.A. is really beautiful. It's actually kinda fun, too, if you're working. It's just not really fun if you're not working and you don't know anybody.
— Rose Byrne
I see myself more as a character actress than a celebrity.
I think its important to keep an element of fear about yourself because it makes you appreciate the jobs.
I'm the youngest of four, and I'm always the clown - making the jokes, wanting attention.
I used to go to rave parties, too, but I was never savvy with techno.
The British are so funny.
You see someone on the street wearing an outfit and then it's on the cover of a magazine. I love. But, you know, I'm Australian, so I'm not too flashy or glitzy.
The British are so funny. It's like they can't believe I lived in Hackney. 'You could live in Bondi Beach. Why would you want to live in 'Ackney?' But Hackney's fantastic. I'm serious. There are so many artists there. I loved the markets, the parks, the pubs, the diversity. It was a cultural melting-pot.
Where I am now, you're very much at everybody else's mercy. You have no control over your career in a lot of ways. It's just important to know what your own goals are, because that's empowering.
I tend to spiral out of control if I'm not working. I get panicked and don't know what to do with myself.
You know, I'm Australian, so I'm not too flashy or glitzy... I've stopped dressing for other people. If I think I look good, that's the most important thing.
Art, a book, a painting, a song, can definitely inspire change, whether it's a small change or a big change but you know there's novels I've read or a scene in a film that I've seen where I definitely inspired something and made a change or addressed an issue in my life or done something cliche like make a phone call.
I've already started saying that I'm 30 when I'm still 29. That way, I'm already there.
All forms of contact are good: letters, parcels, e-mails - I've been trying to get a Webcam for my computer, but I'm such a Luddite.
At a certain point, I got into the older, cooler crowd, and they listened to hip-hop. I was desperately trying to fit in.
There's a lot of intensity when you're on a set. And then it just goes away and no one's giving you attention or flooding you with compliments.
I'm ambitious but I'm not particularly competitive. I'll try to get roles, as I think it's healthy to go for things, but... I think there's too much competition between women already. It's important to have female solidarity and support each other and other actresses.
Being an actor is mostly about rejection and being out of work. It was a fast lesson in all of that stuff.
I often do very serious roles, but really I am a big clown.
I'm in love with the city. You can impress an Australian with a city, but you can't impress them with a beach.
Here in L.A. the standard of beauty is kind of ridiculous. I want to be doing this when I'm in my fifties and sixties and this isn't what I'm going to look like.
My parents were so relaxed by the time I was growing up that I got away with a lot more.
I liked the Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest and Cypress Hill.
It's important to have female solidarity and support each other and other actresses.
They think I'm depressed because I look serious in photos. It's usually because I'm just nervous. But I've stopped dressing for other people. If I think I look good, that's the most important thing.
I've always thought of myself as more of a character actress. I've tried to do different things, but I've always been under the radar and that's how I like it. I've been really blessed to work this long and I just hope I continue to get better and better and better and better.
TV is very much a producer and writer or creator-driven machine in the States. And I'm the kind of actor that needs to be pushed and have someone on my case a little bit, so I suffer from that.
I loved performing; I was always trying to impress my siblings by being a clown. I think that came from being the runt of the litter.
