I jumped at the chance and auditioned for a leading role in the musical 'Hair,' which was touring in Berlin and London. I won roles in both productions and left my job as a secretary after 18 months in 1970 to join the cast of 'Hair' in Berlin. I opted for Berlin because a girl from my neighborhood was also going to perform in 'Hair' there.
It's incredible how London-centric the theatre world is. Certain actors won't travel away from London anymore for work; practitioners often aren't taken seriously enough unless their work is seen in London; and it's sometimes very difficult to get national critics to review shows - especially if there's a clash with a London press night.
A hypothesis or theory is clear, decisive, and positive, but it is believed by no one but the man who created it. Experimental findings, on the other hand, are messy, inexact things, which are believed by everyone except the man who did that work.
One of my favorite episodes was the one in which Homer grew hair. That was a very unique episode, since there was a gay secretary, but that wasn't even the issue of the show-the issue was Homer's image changing because he had hair.
I've already done things I never believed I would. Even stepping out of Northampton and being in London - London always seemed like the big city I might go to for Carnival, go for a party and a chill and then head home.
I have a lot of help before I show up to a shoot, whether it's video or photo or an appearance; there's a bunch of people that work on my face and on my hair and tell me what to wear. I just show up and then they do everything.
I grew up in New Jersey in the '80s. That means one thing: Big hair. ... I had big hair, my boyfriends had big hair, we all had big hair. Our prom looked like the poodle division of the Westminster dog show.
I definitely hand myself over to the hair and makeup gods of 'Girls.' Our look on the show is very specific, and it's different from mine in real life, although I've definitely learned things from working with both the hair and makeup people for the show.
If you live in central London, that's probably fine for you, but in places like Edmonton, where you're almost out of sight of London, you've got to pay more and more to get into central London. How does that work?
For one work we developed a human hair felt, which involved collecting and sorting hundreds of kilos of human hair, and then blending it will a tiny percentage of black merino followed by carding and felting.
I think one of the London Film Festival strengths is that it's set in London but it's not about London. It's about the diversity of this city and it's about world cinema. And that's what London is - London is a place where its identity is always in a state of flux. So, this festival celebrates the way in which it is always changing. That's why London is a fascinating place and that's why the film festival is a fascinating film festival.
Glenn Close is my favourite actress and she came to see the show in London once which was giddying.
I feel more at home in London than in Los Angeles, definitely. If I could have my choice, I certainly would live in London as opposed to LA. I just prefer it here. But I love the work and in LA there's just so much more of it, and as an actor you kind of have to go where the work is. Luckily, I've been able to get the work out there. If work brings me back here, and a project is here and I can do it, I'll jump at the chance.
I worked on a show called 'West Wing' before. I didn't work with Aaron Sorkin, but he created the show and set the tenor of the show, which was you follow the words of the script perfectly because there's a dramaturgical thing behind it.
My hair was so much a part of my personality and all my photo shoots. I hid behind my hair. And then, I just decided I was okay with myself. To have short hair and really show my face is even more revealing than anything. It's a statement - not to everyone else, more to myself. I'm just ready to get out from behind my hair and be myself.
The funny thing is, people only know me for having straight hair for work, but I live in Atlanta where it's hot and humid in the summertime. So when I'm home, I wear my hair natural. My hair is naturally curly; I don't have a relaxer.