When I read something, first I have an instinctual, emotional response to it. But of course, acting isn't only just feeling an instinct for what's going on in the moment with the character. You have to be able to carve… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
I think plays deserve other interpretations. They should live on, and other people should should take their hand at them. I'm very supportive of… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
I think the people who cast films tend to think of me in regard to strong women with integrity and a lot of it… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
I wasn't one of those kids who was like, 'Get me to New York. Get me to a big city.' I was always much… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
It's important to really listen to the other person and have them feel like they're heard, to make sure the relationship feels equal. — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
When I was 20 years old and first with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, we had an 88-seat theater in a basement and no money. — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
Once I got to high school and auditioned for a play and got in, I thought this was really what I was looking for.… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
I didn't really think about being a movie star. I was more about theater. — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
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… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
There are not many things that can happen much worse to a family than having a member taken and not knowing what happened to… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
I think there's been a tendency to place me in what has been characterised as the 'moral centre' of the film. In films like… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
Almost any film that you do is an opportunity to open you up and make you more aware of an area that you might… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
How do we escape who we are? I think, going to college, I felt freer. I loved the clean slate. I wasn't known as… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful even if it was just… — Joan Allen Copy Share Image
