Recurring Roles Quotes

I recurred on 'Grey's Anatomy' for three years, and at the same time, I recurred for eight episodes on 'Rescue Me'. And I'd recurred for nine episodes on 'The Practice'. Frankly, the guest star is often the most compelling character.

I can get a better role in TV and work more constantly than I can waiting around for my friends in Canada to call me every four years - which they do - and I go up there and play a leading role.

I've always liked shows that have a strong cast of secondary characters. One of the greatest examples ever I would say is 'The Simpsons.' If you think about it, you could name 100 characters recognizable from that show. I think 'Scrubs' has done a good job of having a strong team coming off the bench.

When you're a regular on a TV show, they give you more of a backstory, so with these recurring gigs, you have to make up your own backstory.

It is fun, revisiting a role. Usually, as an actor, you do a movie and you put that character up on a shelf, and he's done. That character is now immortalized on film, but you don't get to play him again. In these films [Twilight saga], we got to revisit these characters, and we didn't take that for granted.

One of the unique things about 'American Horror Story' is, it's very respectful to actors. Actors in many cases don't want to be tied down to a seven-year contract. So my deal with the cast is: you're free after every year: you can come back, or you cannot come back.

When you're guest-starring, it's very nice, but you're there very briefly, and it's right there in the name: You're a guest. It's very hard to get a real sense of belonging. With recurring and regular roles, at least you have a sense that this is a home and a steady place.

Every set has their own personalities and their own quirks. It's funny comparing starring in a show to going in and doing recurring work - there's already a rhythm that's been established, and people know each other so well. It's like being a guest in someone else's home.

For myself, anyway, I think that recurring has been such a gift, because I've been able to work on a lot of shows that I've really had a lot of respect for before I went in, shows like 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Nip/Tuck,' for example.

I've done some sitcoms here and there, but nothing long term.

I always thought Broadway's the goal, and then I moved out to L.A. with 'Wicked' and started doing guest-star spots and little recurring things, and I was like, 'Well, this is pretty great; I'm kind of digging this.'

I love the feeling of having as close to a steady job as you can ever have as an actor. I'm not an extravagant spender, so when I work on a TV show for a season or do a bunch of episodes as a reoccurring, I try to spread the money that comes from that out so that I can do these movies that are important to me.

I really feel all my adult life has been spent in that little black box. If a wonderful part on TV came along I would do it. But I don't want to do a recurring role. It would just be my luck that the thing would be successful. I'm old enough now and also secure enough financially that I really only want to do what I want to do.

Everybody asks, 'How do you do it?' And I'm like, 'Well, I'm recurring on both shows, so the reality is, I can do both shows.' And that's the best position to be in. And 'Heroes' just asked me to come back and do more. So once I stop airing on '24' for a little while, I'll be on 'Heroes,' and then I'll be back on '24.'