Laurie Metcalf Quotes

My profession is about as far away from growing up in southern Illinois as you can get.

I'm hideously shy as myself but on stage I can run around naked and bite the heads off fish.

I've loved every minute of every hour I've spent doing theatre.

I almost never give interviews. It's not because I want to play hard to get. It's just that I never seem to have anything interesting to say.

Theater opened up a whole new world for me. It was a freedom I'd never known before.

I've been directed by other actors, and being an actor doesn't make you a good director.

When I go to see something I'm in, or my friends are in, it's like a home movie. When I just go to the movies and don't know anyone in it, then it's a real movie.

I'm happy whenever I'm in a rehearsal room. I've always gotten all my energy and creativity in there.

I actually like to audition. I prefer to audition for something because I don't want to walk onto a stage or a set and [have someone] say, "You are so far away from what I thought you were going to bring in." I would feel more comfortable to audition and say, "Here's my take on it - take it or leave it".

I was too practical to major in theater. Acting - what was I going to do with acting? There was no future in it.

I like to play a wide range of characters. The more they're unlike me, the better I like it.

I was an office secretary for a long time. A good secretary.

I don't like working in front of a camera.

Every part I get, I just think I'm so lucky. They're so hard to get, you know.

Onstage I'm the one in control - I'm not at the mercy of how an editor chooses to put the scene together later. I can do things onstage that I would never do in real life. It's very freeing.

I work just as hard and have just as much fun whether in a 50-seat house or in a 1000-seat house. It's a luxury to be in a tiny space every once in a while and a rush to be on a giant stage every once in a while.

When one thing ends, you put it away and start from scratch on the next thing.

Really, I'll go anywhere at any time to continue working in theater - it's a passion that I'm thankful I still have. It keeps me creative and on my toes and meeting great people. I can't imagine a better way of working than on a play.