A Quote by Phylicia Rashad
Every role affords me something different in the way of understanding, and that's really why you take these roles, not to show that thing that people talk about of showing what you can do - that has nothing to do with anything.
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I'm always playing a role, whether it's the role of the mayor, the role of a news anchor, or a role of a crazy talk-show host. But there was a specific function. 'On Dancing With The Stars', I had nothing to do but be me, schlepping around the floor. And when I host 'America's Got Talent', that's really me just talking to regular folks.
If you talk in a way that is too dissimilar to the character, when people are showing up to see you talk about the show, often it seems like it's jarring to them.
I'm a girl, so every day I have a different opinion about or a different feeling about something that inspires me, but I think the thing that's driven me is I'll take a look at successful people and just try and see what their path was and follow that with my own twist, obviously. I guess I'm inspired by other people who are successful.
Every performer I talk to will, with different words, talk about the sanctity of a good standup show, how it can really feel spiritual. When everybody is laughing, fixed on the same thing, you feel like you transcend yourself.
An actor is an impersonator; he plays many different roles. If you played the same role all the time, God - that'd be a boring career. When you take on different roles and become a different person, that's called acting... It's a challenge.
One thing I've learned is that the audience not only wants to be talked to but they also like to talk back. Maybe that's not a universal thing but people at my shows always have something to say. I love it because it encourages the spirit of having a good time together and it takes the show to places that I wouldn't be able to take it without their participation. The show becomes something that we're all working on together. That sounds really cheesy but I mean it.
If I can, I would like to do as many different roles in a year because then there is no stagnation. That used to happen when I played one role in a serial for years. When a show goes on for years and is delivering ratings, you didn't get the chance to take up other roles and shows.
I would go to work on the show and I felt awful every day, that's not the way it was. ... I felt like some kind of prostitute or something. If I feel so bad, why keep on showing up to this place? I'm going to Africa. The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching.
People often ask me why I don't take up more heroine-oriented roles. My question is, 'Where are these roles?' I really appreciate actresses who sign only films with meaty roles. However, there aren't too many of them. The industry is simply male-dominated.
I prefer to connect with fans from the stage. Like, I don't have a Twitter page, or anything like that. So for me, that's what the show is about. For me - is a way to interact with fans; being up onstage and showing them, through music - which is all I really know - the best way to say thank you.
They would send me notes on what's going on, and we would pitch in and talk about what we wanted to talk about on the show. I just really did my homework. It was more like a real job for me. Doing this talk show was like, "Wow, this is what they do?!" I can't even imagine doing it every day.
If we don't talk about the things that are happening, why are we talking about anything at all? Does something have to be a year old for me to have an opinion on it or a conversation with people about it?
There are little Indian girls out there who look up to me, and I never want to belittle the honor of being an inspiration to them. But while I’m talking about why I’m so different, white male show runners get to talk about their art. I always get asked, ‘Where do you get your confidence?’ I think people are well meaning, but it’s pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, ‘You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You’re not skinny, you’re not white, you’re a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you’re worth anything?’
I'm always trying to find that role that will allow me to stretch and play a lot of different sides, but it's hard. To be frank, as an actor, I read maybe a hundred scripts a year and I really strongly respond to probably two, but every other actor in town responds to those two scripts, as well. It's hard to land those roles that are really good because they're coveted. That's why I try to create for myself, and that's why I've been doing things outside of acting, like writing and producing. I try to not have to depend on other people so much.
I would probably choose supporting roles if I had to make a choice. It's actually a really hard thing to say. It's all on a role-by-role basis, ultimately. I shouldn't be so quick to say that. I feel like you're given greater license to be colorful and eccentric in supporting roles, and that's interesting to me.
After talking to people and meeting them every day, I realize that a song can be written from one perspective with an objective in mind. What is crazy about it is that many different people can take one song a totally different way. That is so cool, since music is a universal thing and a very personal thing.
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