Once I got to high school and auditioned for a play and got in, I thought this was really what I was looking for. Once that had got cleared up, from 13 on, that was it. – Joan Allen
I think the people who cast films tend to think of me in regard to strong women with integrity and a lot of it has been very good. – Joan Allen
I get recognised sometimes. But I just live my life. I get on the bus, I get on the subway, it’s not a problem. – Joan Allen
It’s such a great feeling to make people laugh. I know I’ve made people cry or want to slit their wrists, but to make people laugh is a very intoxicating, wonderful thing. – Joan Allen
Almost any film that you do is an opportunity to open you up and make you more aware of an area that you might not be thinking about. That’s what is kind of cool, or one of the cool things about this profession. – Joan Allen
I just try and do the best with every role I get to do. Hopefully the experience in itself is a good experience and people will want to work with me. – Joan Allen
I never liked the bar scene. I tried to like it. I would give it a try every three or four months. I’d think, tonight I’m going out. But I never met anybody in that circumstance. – Joan Allen
I think that I do separate myself a fair amount. And I don’t feel like I am representing women. That’s up to however people interpret it once they sort of see it. – Joan Allen
I think of myself more as a character actor than that ingenue leading lady, who started out something like Michelle Pfeiffer, or Jessica Lange. I’m a bit quirkier than that. – Joan Allen
I was a very good girl for a long time, that’s what really drew me to acting. The stage was the perfect place to be outrageous, to be sad, to be angry, to be all these different things. – Joan Allen
Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful, even if it was just vicariously. – Joan Allen
I was always much more shy. All I knew was that I loved to act. But I don’t know about the other part of it. I’m not sure I had the chutzpah to go and prove yourself. – Joan Allen
I think I knew acting was what I wanted to do. But I was from this small town and there was no place for an adult to recognise it. – Joan Allen
