When I auditioned for 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway, Gower Champion said, 'You've got the job!' I said, 'Mr. Champion, I can't dance.' He said, 'We'll teach you what you need to know.'
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I wasn't originally taking drama, but the drama teacher asked me to audition for Bye, Bye Birdie. I did and got the lead role. Initially I was kind of scared, but once I did it I got bitten by the bug and loved it.
Initially, I wanted to be an ice skater, but then when I was 13 I saw Bye Bye Birdie, and that was it - I wanted to be on Broadway.
I was thrown into a community production of 'Bye Bye Birdie' or something when I was a kid. I wanted to just build the sets, but I wasn't allowed to just build the sets unless I auditioned for the play. So I auditioned for the play and was thrown into the chorus. During the course of that I fell in love with it, and I never really turned back.
I remember being told very early on, 'Just say what they want to hear in the audition, and we'll figure it out later on.' So there have been a few tricky moments. I once said I could ride, when the truth is I'm terrified of horses, but I got the job!
When you go to auditions, pretend you already have the job and you're just presenting - almost like you're at the table read. Don't go in with an air of, 'Please like me,' or, 'Please hire me.' You're like, 'Here's my take on it. Take it or leave it. I've got a lot of other things to do today.'
If you get an audition and you're out of work, you just say, 'I've gotta go on this.'
I had this job at Hollywood Video, and during my worst audition ever, I forgot all of my lines in front of Chuck Lorre at the callback for the 'Mike and Molly' pilot.
After my last audition for 'Game of Thrones,' they said, 'Congratulations, princess.' I was like, 'Bye-bye, call centre.'
I remember my mom saying, 'I will take you to every audition, I will support you, but the minute you stop caring about it, I will stop.'
Mike Nichols asked if I would do The Birdcage. Mike and I are dear friends but he had never offered me a feature role in a movie. My television career opened other doors for me.