Laura Osnes Quotes

I'd always wanted to be on Broadway one day, but it seemed like a dream that might be unattainable. This business has a lot of ups and downs and I learned that pretty quickly.

I did the whole struggling actor thing and lucked into being in the right place at the right time and getting involved in the first 'High School Musical.'

After 'Spelling Bee,' I started landing more jobs... I got 'Candide' at New York City Opera.

My career, definitely, the early years were a little scattershot, in terms of - it was a little regional theater, it was a lot of voiceovers, it was a lot of random day jobs. I mean, it was hard. It was hard to scrap around, and once 'Hairspray' happened, then it all kind of clicked into place.

I was in California, and I was going to UCLA, and I knew I certainly didn't have movie star looks. I remember seeing pictures and photos of Ethel Merman and Mary Martin, who were kind of average looking. I said, 'Well, that's for me, then, to go back to New York and try to be in musical comedy on Broadway.'

I was 17 when I auditioned for 'Miss Saigon.' I really grew up doing that show. I pretty much knew, almost a year into 'Miss Saigon,' that I was going to be a performer, that I was going to be singing and acting.

All my graduation money went to paying for bartending classes so I could have a side gig. I bartended for two months before I was supposed to move to New York and then two months later I got the job as an understudy in 'Sister Act' and haven't looked back since.

I've been able to go on and have a successful career on Broadway and certainly the last five years in Las Vegas have been amazing.

When I did 'Grease,' I took good care of myself. I treated it like a job. I approached it very professionally because I wanted to make a good reputation and hopefully continue on in the Broadway community and continue to do shows.

I've been very lucky. I wanted to be an actress, but I didn't really have the drive to sell myself. Fortunately I had a terrific agent in New York who kept me going from job to job.

I think on a bucket list for a performer is definitely doing a stage show, whether it's in Vegas or on Broadway or whatever.

Once you get into a part, and someone sees you, you get asked to do it again.

My father is an actor, so he brought me into his agency when I was young. It wasn't something I wanted to do until high school, when I started taking theater and really liked it. Then an agent found me and wanted me to come out to Los Angeles and give it a shot. I gave myself six months, but it only took me like a week to get a job.

When I saw my first Broadway show, 'Beauty and the Beast,' I was like, 'Okay, I'm definitely gonna do this.' After that, I did little shows and started auditioning.

My one ambition was to go to Broadway, and I never gave up on that dream.

I was in 'Rent,' for God's sake. The closest we came to stunts was dancing on a table.

Everything has combined to make my life in New York an amazing experience. I told my manager a few years ago that I wanted to move here and try acting in the theater.

Paul Haggis, who's now a big movie guy, cast me as a lawyer in 'Family Law.' When that series ended, I thought that I would be going on more auditions and booking more jobs, but everything just came to a screeching halt.

I've only ever really been in shows of friends, so I don't know exactly what happened. I think I'm incredibly cheap to hire. That can buy some traction. I'm as cheap as it's possible for an actor to be legally.

It's so hard coming out of drama school to claim your right to be taken seriously and even get auditions.

Well, I want to do The Music Man. I think it's an amazing opportunity, but I think that they are probably looking at major movie stars right now, and I don't blame them.

I majored in musical theatre performance at college, then went through years of waiting tables and temping while looking for acting work.

My goal has always been to be a working actor.

I'm never offered any sort of roles. I need to audition in a typically lengthy process to receive roles.

I was a dancer when I got discovered, and I started working immediately. I started being in commercials and doing guest star roles. My first big thing, which happened maybe six months after being discovered, was 'Bring It On: All or Nothing.'