A Quote by Mahershala Ali
I thought, 'I've been doing this for 16 years professionally. I have a window where I want to play leading parts.'
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I see a steady downward slope toward oblivion over the next three years. I'm pessimistic. Everything that's happened to me so far has been kind of flukey. I went into Twentieth Century because I wanted to work for Hal Prince. The part was too small according to my agent. I had been doing only leading parts, and he thought I should continue that. But the part was enlarged in rehearsal: songs were added, and it became more physicalized and showy. Then I won awards and got attention.
1960, I was 20 years old, and I was leading the U.S. Open. Now, I wasn't leading by several strokes, but I was leading the U.S. Open and playing with Ben Hogan, had a very good chance to win, nine holes to go, I was leading. I was still leading with six holes to play.
When I was about 16, I started to believe I could play professionally. I worked hard and focused more.
I've been so transient, I've been on my own since I was 16. I didn't even have my own place until I was 32 years old. I literally lived out of bags for 16-plus years.
What happened was like any guy on the indie scene - I've been wrestling for 16 years; everybody thinks I'm this new, young. I'm like, 'I'm 32. I've been at it for 16 years. I just couldn't get to the next level.'
I'll always be figuring out what parts I want to play, because I want to play all parts. I'm a very hungry actress.
The story of Judith. But one of the reasons I'm doing it is because the roles I've been writing for myself over the past few years have gotten older and older. And I thought, You know, before it's too late, I want to play a sexy, tough young gal again. And I always wanted to do a Biblical epic. So, I'll play a beautiful young widow who saves her people from the Assyrians.
I don't think I want to play title roles. I don't want to be the face on the poster. I don't want that pressure of having the success riding on my shoulders. I just want to play the most interesting parts. I actually think it's incredibly rare to get an interesting female character that is the lead in a film. Usually the character parts are so much more interesting to play.
It's always been fun for me to play a variety of parts, and over the years, I've been lucky with the things I've been asked to do.
I want to keep doing interesting work with interesting people in whatever form that may take, but I want to play the big parts of classical theatre; I want to go on stage and play great Shakespearean roles and, at the same time, do amazing, challenging indie films and comedy, and I want to do it all. I am greedy.
The way I learnt to play was to go out there and enjoy myself. I never thought I'd play professionally.
When I was about 16, I did a Neil LaBute play called 'A Gaggle of Saints' from a collection of plays called 'Bash' - very violent story about a young Mormon who goes to Central Park with his friend and beats up a gay guy. But it was the first thing I had ever done, and I thought, "God, this is fun! This is far more fun than anything else I've been doing at school. I want to stick with it."
I've always tried to stray towards characters who are way more faceted than your standard leading man role, and I've been fortunate to play some parts who have this awkward tension to them.
I have genuine empathy for the fact that if you're a professional footballer, you've often started at three years old, you've been found, you've been scouted, you play, you play, you play, you make millions, you live this incredible life. And then you reach 35, and suddenly you have to stop doing it, and you haven't been taught anything else.
Knock wood, but I started acting professionally when I was 16, and I've always been able to support myself since then.
I've never thought of myself as a classic leading man. I'm a character actor who happens to play leading roles. Come on, look at me. I'm really Desperate Dan.
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