That’s my achievement actually – when a mother says that she didn’t marry off her 14-year-old daughter because of me, or when a woman tells me that she continued to study after watching my dramas – those comments mean a lot.
The big dramas that fascinate me are the quiet ones that happen behind closed doors in so-called ordinary families.
Ideally, that’s what you’ve got in an acting career is an equal number of dramas and comedies and an equal number of small films and big films.
The dark comedies tend to be in a non-releasable area. There can be romantic comedies. There can be dramas. But there’s no ‘dark comedy’ inbox for the advertising.
I started off with films similar to ‘Blood Money’ – intense, emotional dramas. But as is often the case, the industry and audience typecast me and I decided to break away. Hence, followed a spate of comedies.
We’re definitely still interested in the Avatar/Korra universe and fantastical world building in general, but I think many of the core themes and tones found in our two kids’ series would be present as well in any sort of adult dramas we might be lucky enough to make in the future.
With sport dramas and war movies, it is always about accomplishment, where people are fighting for their country or community’s honour.
When I signed ‘Guide,’ my colleagues in the industry said that I was doing a big mistake. They even said that this might be my last film because that was the phase when actresses in the industry were portrayed as submissive women. We used to do love stories or family dramas where women were ideal in every role.
I suppose that’s why we watch dramas: to see the stuff that in real life you’d end up in prison for.
I think TV is a fantastic medium right now because of what you can do visually. It’s phenomenal, and it’s just getting better and better, but in a way, there’s no beating the personal image you can create in your head, with those personal aspects, which you can only get from reading or radio dramas.
I love comedy, but it’s dramas that stick with me.
You know, I’ve always wanted to do dramas. When I moved to L.A., that was my dream, because I never really grew up watching comedies, although of course I loved ‘Dumb & Dumber.’
It wasn’t like, ‘I’ma lose weight and start doing dramas.’ I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose weight – it’s just about being healthy and feeling good.
If you look at the timing of many of the Greek dramas from the theatrical point of view, it’s all off, and I think the reason for that is that music played a very important part.
I was lucky enough to be able to do comedies, dramas, completely different parts. At the beginning, when you start you have a fantasy that you could be somebody else. Which is absurd. That’s part of being an actor. It’s your voice, it’s the way you move, it’s your body, even if you transform it, you play with it.
I loved doing all those costume dramas. I didn’t think, ‘Ooh I’ve got to avoid being typecast’ – you can’t ever be dictated to by what other people think. I just do things because I fancy the parts and the directors.
On telly, there’s been a move towards entertainment – with some very high-powered, fast-moving dramas. Then we have the Internet, where we get our information but it’s all in bite-size pieces. I think the documentary, as a form, actually speaks to what’s missing.
I love playing a dad. It’s hard to find family dramas that are genuinely funny.
I always laugh a lot when I see the dramas that I end up doing. I see myself behaving very seriously and I’m like, ‘What is this?’
I know I’m known for dramas, but around my family and friends, I’m really goofy! Not saying I’m necessarily funny, but I’m very goofy.
Dramas for me are where it’s at, but a great drama, a great character-driven drama, there’s very few of them that get made; there’s very few of them that actually make it to theaters. There’s just very few of them.
When I began making films, they were just movies: ‘What’s the new movie? What are you doing?’ Now they’re called ‘adult dramas.’
I’ve always wanted to be part of stories about social justice – urgent, meaningful, substantial dramas.
I’m ready for theatre. I’m ready for dramas, period stuff, films. I want to achieve everything.
I believe the life of every person is worthy of scrutiny, containing its own secrets and dramas.
It’s not like I want to be Prince Charming when I do dramas. But I think I’ve always shown such an image because that’s just the way Korean dramas work.
By importing into the U.K. the divisive politics of anti-racism from America, with its demented campus dramas and neuroses about ‘safe spaces’, ‘micro-aggressions’ and ‘cultural appropriation,’ they make it almost impossible for people of goodwill of all ethnicities to rub along together.
With family dramas, it’s hard to keep those stories alive.
There’s certain people you want to see in comedies; there’s certain people you just want to see in dramas. Not that there aren’t individuals who do both, but it’s not everyone.
When we watch courtroom dramas, we tend to identify with the kindhearted defense attorney, but give us the power, and we become like hanging judges.
It’s amazing to me how quickly the industry will try to put you into a box. It’s like, I did ‘Beale Street.’ And they decided now, all of a sudden, ‘Oh, okay. KiKi Layne does those little quiet indie dramas.’ I’m like, ‘No! That’s just where I got started.’
Period dramas seem to take actors to the next level because they do so well in America.
I’m really enjoying being able to do these unhinged comedies and emotional dramas alike. I’m having a lovely time. After shooting a role that requires months of crying, it’s quite nice to be able to play something very different.
There can be dramas in your life and you can get over them and become someone. You don’t have to wallow in self-pity; you can actually use the experiences in your life to push yourself further and help others.
My husband is leaving me. No dramas, no slammed doors – well, OK, a few slammed doors – and no suitcase in the hall, but there is another woman involved. Her name is Dementia.
My 20s were peaceful, privileged, but still I felt the desire to write angsty dramas.
You don’t read many scripts, especially for crime dramas, that feature a strong woman as the central character.
All the great Shakespeare plays are about killing. ‘Alas, poor Yorick,’ that’s about death. And in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ everyone up ends up dying. The greatest dramas in the world are all about sex, violence and death.
I’d like to make character-based dramas. I end up writing thrillers a lot – these psychological character-based things with weird people doing horrible things to each other – coming to a theatre near you!
Fairytales work on two levels. On a conscious level, they are stories of true love and triumph and overcoming difficult odds and so are pleasurable to read. But they work on a deeper and symbolic level in that they play out our universal psychological dramas and hidden desires and fears.
There’s been a vacuum with movies that people can relate to. There’s been a paucity of dramas that people can relate to. I think audiences are clamoring to connect – particularly after 9/11 – with things that are genuine and real and I think documentaries are filling that need.
The dramas that I worked on were successful, but not the movies. I still have many opportunities, and I will not be discouraged.
With period dramas, it’s very easy to get excited because I love to do them.
There are as many great superhero movies as there are comedies and dramas and cartoons. People just want to see good movies.
I told my agents that I love Holly Hunter and Frances McDormand and all of these women that are good at doing comedies as well as dramas.
I was tired of the same saas-bahu family dramas that I was being offered, so I took a long break.
I’d love to adapt more contemporary novels. But there isn’t really enough story and character to make a really satisfying serial, so they tend to be single dramas.
I think I’m interested in these kinds of character dramas, psychological dramas, domestic dramas, whatever you want to call them – comedy dramas.
When I’m engaged in a story my health is not a big deal, but when I’m not doing anything, if you sit me down, I can get tied up in my own medical dramas. So I much prefer to work.
I’m drawn to dramas that make people think. I want to make an impact.
I think that most of the best movies made in America in the 20th century were crime dramas, screwball comedies and westerns.
Dramas need to have a certain aesthetic that comedy just doesn’t really seem to need to have.
I’m not going to be labeled a black filmmaker. I am not here to just tell black stories. I’m here to tell all kinds of stories, musicals and dramas.
I actually have a history of doing quite a few period dramas, but I think I really specifically wanted to do the Regency era, and to be able to do high-society Regency era is even more amazing.
There are a lot of period dramas out there but not many opportunities for a mixed-race actress to play a period role.
I write R-rated action dramas, and every year that goes by, that gets to be a smaller and smaller world you have to work in. You have to think of how to get the studio excited and sell them something.
