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Quotes
Being a teenager was a
horrid time.
I
can remember crying on the set of Beverly Hills 90210 after being
released from the show a few years ago.
I
don't know what I did in this life to deserve all of this. I'm just a
girl from a trailer park who had a dream.
I
grew up in a trailer park in Bellingham, Washington.
I
haven't tucked a sock in my pants for three years.
I'm
only twenty-seven, and I'm not easy to pigeonhole. But if you need to do
that, if it makes you feel comfortable, okay, fine.
One
thing I've learned: You never know where life is taking you, but it's
taking you.
The
truth is, after Boys Don't Cry, I realized how few and far between the
great roles are. I am beyond thankful for finding Million Dollar Baby.
My most annoying question is 'Hilary, are
you ever going to play a pretty girl?'" quoted in Newsweek.
I think when you're playing a real character
you have an extra responsibility to do it really right, so because of
that, I do extensive research. I really try and figure out the person
inside and out. I read the lines, but I read in-between the lines and
try and find the qualities in that person that makes them human and I
hopefully try and bring that out in what I do. - on playing Annie
Sullivan
I cut coupons, love specials and believe in
buying toilet paper and toothpaste in bulk. It's just who I am. quoted
in Woman's World - 7-19-05
I've realized that as an actor you have to
just keep working really hard and studying your craft. I think I thought
maybe things would be easier after the first Academy Award, that I would
get better job opportunities, but then you really realize that there's
not a whole lot of great quality out there, for women especially. It's
not just something that women say; it's the truth. Because of that I had
to be specific about not just doing something that I didn't want to do,
but I also needed to pay my bills. I didn't do job after job after job.
I would do a job and then still keep working on acting, whether it would
be reading a play - something that's inspiring - with a bunch of actors,
hearing it, studying, reading books about acting, and watching actors. I
think it's an ever-evolving craft. And I think it's something that you
always need to work at. - On working as an actor
I have to say that I didn't ever really see
it as rejection, per se, and I don't know why. I guess if I saw it as
rejection, then I would allow myself time to focus on something that
seemed negative, instead of realizing, "I have an audition
tomorrow," and I was auditioning a lot, and, "If I focus on
why I didn't get that, then I'm not going to be able to be present and
work on this." At that time it was easier for me to let go of the
past and just move on. Although there were so many times when it didn't
mean I didn't get depressed if I didn't get something that I really
wanted. I mean, I'm human, and I absolutely would get bummed out,
especially if I worked really hard on something, and it came right down
to me and someone else. But I'd try to get feedback. Was there something
that I could have done differently? Was it something I can work on the
future for the next job? And try to gain a positive from it? And
sometimes it wasn't anything I'd done. It was just the blue-eyed girl
looked better with the brown-eyed boy. You can't change that; you can't
control that. - On getting rejected for roles
You need to study and work on your craft. If
you're not prepared when that dream audition comes, you are not going to
get that opportunity. To me, the definition of success is when
opportunity meets preparation. So I really recommend that actors always
work on their craft and their skills. Obviously you can't make a living
doing that, but you can get a lot of joy from it and learn and be
inspired by the people you're working with and by your teachers and by
the material. As long as you're still being inspired by it, you're going
to find joy. Then hopefully the role will come along. I just want every
actor to know to keep chipping away at it. - On giving advice to
beginning actors.
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