Nicole Ari Parker Quotes

The 'boy next door' parts I get offered, I don't find interesting.

I always played the ugly sister instead of Cinderella or the Wicked Witch. But those are the parts I love, and actually, to be a character actress, you have more longevity, hopefully.

When I tried to play characters that strayed from who I am it ended in disaster. People didn't expect me in comedies or musicals.

The thing is, I want to play real characters and not all girls can be pretty. The thing is, you get these girls who say 'I'm a character actor' then you see them in a role and nothing has really changed but the outfit.

And lot of Asian audiences and reporters don't like me to act as a bad guy. But I think I want to become an actor, I want to try different way.

A lot of people that make films say, 'We need this kind of character. Who's done it before? Get them to do it again.' That is exactly what actors are pushing against. It's kind of a cliche to talk about being stereotyped in that way, but it happens.

I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be pretty low down on the list.

Am I being typecast as a horrible person? I don't know. I don't think so. But if it happens, I'd rather get to play that, because there's nothing fun about being sweet. Sweet can be so boring, so I'd be happy staying away from that.

Most of the time, actors respond to the thing that's so far from who they are. We all want to play the serial killer and the ex-con.

I get typecast as doctors, principals, middle-management-type guys - which, when you look at me, you realize is completely against my physical characteristics. I should be an action hero. So I don't understand what's going on.

Of course, I would like to play the guy next door, but nobody's going to hire me for that kind of role.

Everything big-budget or stereotypical I was offered after 'Slumdog Millionaire' was a huge no-no.

I don't want to be known as this goody-two-shoes who can only do comedies where puppies are licking peanut butter off my face.

As soon as I started acting in England, I got unusual roles. Although I'm 6 foot six, and agents might standardly cast me in tough guy roles or the big guy in the back, I've been very blessed to do roles that makes them think twice about how they're gonna cast me.

I'm stunned that people keep asking me to play characters I didn't expect to play.

I try to do other characters that are different from Monk, obviously, because I'd like to be remembered for more than just that.

Even in comedy, I'm always the straight guy, which is okay because that's a skill. But it would be nice to get out of that box.

I have been given a lot of roles that are downtrodden, mammy-ish. A lot of lawyers or doctors who have names but absolutely no lives. You're going to get your three or four scenes; you're not going to be able to show what you can do.

I would always worry that I was only going to play the girl next door or the cute girlfriend. But I've been really lucky that all my roles have been very intense and completely different kinds of characters.

I don't mind playing gay because there's a whole plethora of gay roles out there, but if I get asked to play one more Southern hairdresser, I'm going to scream.

Character actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini have found themselves getting more and more leading roles because they are permitted to behave onscreen in ways that George Clooney and Matt Damon never could.

Doing comic roles is a great relief considering the power-packed roles that are usually offered to me.

In other ways, you constantly have to change people's opinion of you as one thing, especially if you want to play different roles. You have to shatter that image sometimes. I've had to do it before with stage roles, to get roles. I'm drawn to kind of darker, misfit things. I would like to, especially in film, play against type and do some heavier stuff. I'm intrigued by projects that deal with problematic people and things.

Certainly, I look for different characters 'cause I always like to keep people guessing, and I also don't like to get typecast. I made a concerted effort, last year and this year, to get a range of characters, just to show people the range that I have, and for them to be able to see the artistry beyond the color.

It's my chance to challenge myself to the fullest, which is one of the great joys about my job... I love it when a character requires me to look less than my red-carpet best. It's more fun playing a character that requires you to look like dog s - t.