Role Evolution Quotes

At first I was always cast as the girlfriend. It was a long time before I got to play characters who were people.

I enjoy darker sardonic wit more than knock-knock jokes. I spent the first healthy chunk of my career playing all-American, pleasant, average, nice people, so it's fun to have some complications there.

I love the challenge of an entire year has gone by and how has that affected the character you're playing.

The wonderful thing about acting is you move along with your decade. The older you get, the more interesting the parts you get to play and you bring more of your personal experience to the part.

I would model when they wanted me, and as I got older, they wanted an older model. I was quite willing to be mother of the bride at 28. I was quite happy to be on the cover of a grandparents' magazine at 42; I have no ego about that.

As an actor ages north of 60, he tends to be in more father roles than anything else. It's generational. And it tends to be a relationship that fascinates people, the flawed relationships between parents and kids.

As a young actor, I was advised to bide my time. Back then, there weren't good roles for someone like me. There were handsome leading men and character actors for smaller supporting roles. But I was told to hang in there, and it was good advice. We're all character actors now. Even a handsome man is a character actor at my age.

So, yes, the five years that we've been working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has evidenced a real deepening of all the characters, not only mine.

I haven't wanted to portray a manager since Paul E. Dangerously was with the Samoan Swat Team in 1989. I've always wanted to do some different presentation in that role. I don't consider myself a manager - I'm an advocate, and I truly believe that that is the description for the role that I play.

I'm so... Honestly, it's been amazing to be a part of this journey on 'Veronica Mars.' Because I started out, really, with a word on the show. So it's kind of fun to look back and be like, 'Wow, I was basically an extra,' but not really - I had a little part.

As an actor what you're always looking for is a character that is going to grow and change especially on television. I feel incredibly lucky to be working on a television show where the writing is always geared towards us growing and changing.

Every actor wants to have a character that changes, that has some kind of movement, that gets from point A to point B, that doesn't just supply one note.

Kai was my longest arc that I had done on a show, so it was a big step forward to me.

I remember always feeling lucky with Zoey on 'Nurse Jackie' that... she was new at the very beginning. So that gave her everywhere to go.

Initially, women only had to portray married wife roles on TV, but now there are show that are offering other roles to portray for women. Earlier, all drama used to revolve only around married women, which is not the case now. Even the male actors have a good opportunity for better roles now.

I want to attack and to lead my life with vigor, but I'm in the watching stage at the moment. Younger actors feel pressure to bring a pop to every scene; as the roles get bigger, I'm finding you can add layers and do less scene-to-scene.

A role can go from being a babe to anything, as long as it's something that makes me curious.

I've worked really hard to bring something more to 'pretty girl' roles over the years. I consider it a challenge.

You will see a different Susi Ganesan in 'Kanthaswamy.'

Whatever is said about roles drying up, I intend to keep working. Certainly now the roles couldn't be more interesting - playing mothers, divorcees. I think it's going to be exciting to play a mother of teenagers. The longer your life, the deeper it gets.

I love the fact that there's an evolution in your understanding and the difference between the first time you play the role and last time you play the role - there's an incredible arc and that's wonderful.

Know who you are, because that's how you will be cast at first. Then you can be Meryl Streep further down the road.

I think once you've allocated an actor to the role that the character will evolve slightly.

I never played the 'decoration,' I always played the one who suffered. And then I got very lucky in my middle career, when I started playing the hero, which at that point was quite rare for women.

I love when I am not typecast. I've been acting for 50 years. I was such a baby face; I was playing children until I was in my 30s, which frustrated me enormously. Now that I am 65 and getting to play women in their 50s, I am getting paid back for having to play children for so long.