It would be easy to blame Hollywood to say that I was typed and forced to play the same role over and over. For a while, I did. But the truth is that I knew what I was doing. I was enjoying myself. I was making money.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'd been in Hollywood for five years before I started writing 'The Guild.' I worked enough to pay all my bills. So I was very lucky in that respect. Most people don't make a living acting.
I still don't consider myself as going Hollywood. I did a movie because the opportunity presented itself and it was fun. When everything stops being fun, I'll go onto something else.
I was very aware that my path into the industry would probably be as an actress and not in production, that I could learn a lot that way. And I did.
I don't think the money people in Hollywood have ever thought I was normal, but I am dedicated to my work and that's what counts.
Television allowed me to kick the Hollywood habit of typing an actor in certain roles.
But the one thing that I did do was establish myself as a good actor.
For some time, I thought being a producer would be a more fulfilling career than being an actor. But then I went to a conference in Cannes with 300 other producers, all desperately chasing finance for their projects... and realized being an actor wasn't so bad after all!
After I got to Hollywood, I resented that I didn't get a crack at more dramatic roles because I photographed so beautifully.
So when my film career took off, I always felt like I was trying to play catch-up because I hadn't studied acting before. I didn't know how to manage money or my career. When I look back, I think I was a little bit shell-shocked.
I didn't become an actor because I thought I'd make lots of money.