Alberta Watson Quotes

1. I have an entirely different career now than the one I began with at 16. And I wouldn't have it any other way.  








2. (in response to "How do you deal with a bad actor?") The only thing that makes a bad actor is when they're not giving. I'll try to do whatever I can to move them, surprise them, throw them. I'll use whatever I can to make something happen. Even if it's off-script or it's not emotionally called for, because at least there's going to be an emotional truth - even if you have to piss somebody off.

3. If I've learned anything in this career it's that you have to hold on to the wisdom you've earned and to use it in your work. I bring an authenticity and experience in my work now that only comes with age and time.

4. (about her portrayal of the mother in "Spanking the Monkey", a role that was turned down by several actresses) I took it because it was a heck of a challenge. And I'm not a name with an image to protect. The subject was incest. It didn't scare me at all. I seized the character and made her something. She was a deeply disturbed woman with a roller coaster of emotions. Her son visits for the summer and she's laid up with a broken leg and things get out of hand.

5. (describing what she loves most about being an actor) I tell you, I hate all the fuss; the make-up, the wardrobe, all that stuff. I just want to be there with whoever my acting partners are and try to achieve whatever it is we're supposed to. And the part that's really exciting is when you know that you've gone to that true place. Committing and responding to your partner; having the moment be truthful and also convey what the material is. Those moments are for me the joy of acting. 

6. (in response to "How do you deal with bad writing?") Truly, it's the hardest work. I mean, you have to try and conjure up a whole person when it's not on the page. It's very difficult. What I try and do is just be even more in the moment so that there are surprises and that at least the surprises will be real. And the surprises are at least fun to play and discover.

7. (recalling when she was an introverted teen and discovered theatre) I had a voice suddenly. I was being heard. I was being listened to for the first time in my life and that felt good.

8. I don't want to be a Stick Girl and not eat, I don't want to have a lot of procedures. I want a rounded life. I love to work, it allows me my expression of how I perceive life and allows me to have a life. I get to play characters that are more dicey, have more spice, more edge. I don't have to be concerned if the character has a few pounds; I don't have to worry about make-up. That's not to say I don't have to battle with the physicality. But I couldn't do it in L.A. where I'd have to worry about (silicone/Botox) injections.

9. Canadian actors are too frickin' humble compared to American actors, who generally have more avenues in the industry. We could use a little of their balls. They could use a little bit of our grace.

10. I have mixed feelings about a star system in Canada. I don't think I'd ever want to be a star. I like being a working actor. I live a nice life, I don't live in a huge house but my life is comfortable. I don't need to have a lot. What I would like to see in place of a star system is simply more production. I just want to see actors getting more opportunities. 

11. You have more time when you have more money, but that doesn't always make it (the production) better. (In indies) you get to do it together, not just some CEOs counting shareholders. With low-budget films, people give 150 per cent because they don't have the money or time to waste, and there is a necessity to be creative in what casts and crews do.

12. It's very different approaching work as a mature actress. There are fewer parts and the ones that are there, well, the producers still want you to look decades younger. The pressure on actresses to go to drastic ends to achieve a look of frozen youth has had some scary effects that I think we've all seen. All I can do is keep showing up and doing my best.

13. If you want to be an actor, drop out of school and go be a hippie.


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