MLT: What’s one thing you know for sure? LG: I’ve just gotten more peace out of worrying mainly about myself, and not getting too competitive or worried about other people’s lives. I have a thing I say often, which I did not invent: “Keep your eyes on your own paper.” And that’s been very helpful to me, as an actor, I think.
MLT: What’s the accomplishment you’re most proud of? LG: It’s being a working actor, really. Launching this Parenthood show is 10 years from launching Gilmore Girls, you know, and I’d been working for a while before that. And I still can’t believe that I get to do what I want to do in life. I feel amazed that I always knew what I wanted to do, and I actually am doing it.
MLT: What’s your Zen destination? LG: The beaches of Long Island, which can be really crowded and terrible in the summer, but I grew up out there with my cousins, going there in the wintertime and off-season. I just think it’s one of the most beautiful places.
MLT: If you had an extra hour each day, you would … LG: Read more. I just used to be such a giant reader. I always used to have a couple books going. There are so many things that I have stacked next to my bed, which my dad always did. I was always like, “Why does my dad have like 10 books next to his bed? Can’t he just read one at a time?” But now I understand. The book I’m reading now is about the oral history of the public theater in New York, and just the politics of it and putting together this nonprofit theater.
Lauren Graham: The Girl (You Wish Lived) Next Door
quote:
You’re so good at the quick, witty dialogue ala Roslyn Russell in “His Girl Friday” are there any actors that have amused or inspired you in that way?
LG: Yes, in terms of historically speaking I did watch all those movies and really liked them and I was always drawn to Katherine Hepburn. The Philadelphia Story I’ve seen a thousand times and I love that era of writing because even when it was over the top it was so poetic. I think those early career girl movies - they had such presence and wit and confidence and I just really always loved those comedies.
And I have now worked with, though not enough to my liking, both Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton who were actors I grew up being really drawn to…They’re two I really look up to.
Parenthood
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ellen
