Rose McIver Quotations

Since I was growing up in New Zealand where there's a hole in the ozone layer above us, we get so much sun damage to our skin, and the thing we can do to look after ourselves is use sunscreen during the day, but making sure your skin is well hydrated while you sleep.

I love having the laid-back, easy-going, family-priority nature of New Zealand, but I'm certainly enjoying the States in terms of the career opportunities and the enthusiasm I get to find work.

The great thing about being an actor in a film is that you're able to start knowing exactly where you're going to finish and really paint something in between. You can work to know the arc you need to build. Whereas in television, it is open-ended, and you're constantly guessing. There are pros and cons to both.

We can get carried away with our heads in books, and although there's so much to be learned from that, I think sitting in a cafe and speaking with someone - whatever it is, their mannerisms, their choices, are just as valuable as any class you can go to.

Say a piece of pottery is broken, and it's fixed, and they use gold in the adhesive and in the sealant. It becomes more precious than it was before it was broken in the first place.

When you overcome a profound loss, or there's some catalyst in your life that shifts everything, if you're able to take it in stride and heal, it can make for much more three-dimensional and empathetic people.

I don't ever want to feel like my whole life is laid out before me and I know exactly what's gonna happen. That would be so boring.

I'll use mascara because I need a little help with my blonde eyelashes. I like They're Real! by Benefit.

I've been very lucky with my career and don't feel like I'm being typecast in the same role over and over again.

My mom used cold cream her whole life, and she's got great skin!

My school of thought with going into a character is that you have to understand where they come from, and you have to empathize with them.

The best way to study to be an actor is to interact genuinely with the people around you and observe and listen.

There's no use beating yourself up about what you can't change.

Tinker Bell is a great wing woman. And as somebody pointed out to me, she is also a winged woman.

Tinker Bell needs a Tinker Bell. She needs someone plotting for her. I certainly think that it's something she wants.

Writing is definitely something that interests me a lot.

Allison Janney, I'm such a big fan of. Especially the way she conducts herself on a personal level, it's so beautiful. She's this fun, gracious person.

Being given a terrible piece of information shouldn't ruin the interactions you have with the people around you or mean that you can't become something, even if it's not the idea of what you thought you were going to be.

I also have a role model back in New Zealand, a woman called Miranda Harcourt. She's an actress and a writer. Her willingness to stay open to material is really great. I read a lot, and I try to watch and listen to diverse material.

I always think about the settlers who moved to New Zealand in the 1800s. They hadn't even been to the place before. They just packed their bags and shipped over knowing they'd never see their family again or be able to speak to them - they'd maybe get a letter if they were lucky.

I bring ideas to set, and I'm more than willing for those to be affected and be malleable based on what the other person gives me. I don't know what another actor is going to give me, on the day, and I don't want to be so hard and fast in my technique that I'm not open to what's coming.

I do think of myself very strongly as a New Zealander, but when I moved out to the States, I was aware that I didn't want to just live in a satellite community of only other New Zealanders.

I don't really have a drive toward being a director at all. Not that I wouldn't rule it out, but I just don't think my instincts lie necessarily in a very visual way. But I am very interested in storytelling, narrative and character development, so writing is something that I absolutely want to do.

I had to do a Northern England accent once, and I didn't have much time, so I went and pored through YouTube. There are all sorts of resources out there. The Internet has made that much more affordable. Don't break your neck to spend your money.

I really like questions. I like people who write scripts because they're asking questions, not because they're giving answers. It's something that I look for.

I think if I manage to juggle a personal life that I'm really happy with as well, as long as I manage to maintain balance, that's kind of the mark of success to me.

When I look at jobs, one of the most relevant questions I ask is, 'Is this something I've done before, or is it a chance to experience a new context, tone and relationship?' I also ask if it's a story worth telling and a character with a reason to exist... someone who reflects the human condition.

There is humor in the darkest of moments - People who I have loved and passed away, and very high stake situations where you can't help but laugh. I think that's very human.

What I love about my work is the variety and not knowing what's coming next, and being able to embrace something for a period of time and know something new is going to follow.

My motivation is to get a deeper understanding and exploration of something that I want to know about the human condition. So, that's what I look for in the material I read: if it's asking a genuine question about a concept of the world that interests me. And also, it helps if it's a context that I find interesting.

My most vivid memory - it's actually one of my first memories - I was three, and I was the youngest angel in the show production. And I remember being absolutely desperate for the toilet. I needed to wee really badly. So I was crossing my legs when I was walking down.

I work with a stylist called Devon Nuszer and a makeup artist called Aaron Barry, and between those two, I trust them implicitly. I have the things I do over and over again and that I feel safe with, but they inspire me to take risks, and I trust them so much.

My brother was scouted for a commercial when he was three, and it was just because he could speak clearly and was well behaved, basically. I don't think he had any amazing acting ability at that age - although he is actually a great actor.

When I was about five, I could do a vaguely decent American accent - straight through kind of decent - and 'Hercules' needed some kids. I definitely wasn't a good actor.

There are many projects that I would have loved to be a part of, but I was not high-profile enough, or I had the wrong look. That's just something you have to expect.

Really, I'm never much of a goal-setter. Whenever I've tried to make big, solid plans, they don't happen. I'm more into whatever the circumstances are that present themselves, making wise decisions around that.

I've done a lot of drama, and as a lifestyle, going to work and laughing every day is just great. It's great for your mental health, and it's great for setting up a nice year.

I'm really fortunate that I am in continuous work and I love what I do. And I think that there's a reason that it keeps happening. So while that keeps happening, I will be thrilled - and feel lucky - to keep doing it.

If you're small and can speak clearly and you're a cute kid, that's the craft, really. The whole child actor thing can be dangerous sometimes. Other kids were taking piano lessons; I did ballet and acting.

I've always wanted to be an actor that explores different genres and different characters.

As an actor, I was taught, from an early age, that secrets are the most powerful thing that you can have on screen, and that what you withhold is as important as what you share.

Nobody acts purely selfishly.

I know that I don't have a perfect performance that I bring to set. I bring ideas to set, and I'm more than willing for those to be affected and be malleable, based on what the other person gives me.

I don't know what another actor is going to give me, on the day, and I don't want to be so hard and fast in my technique that I'm not open to what's coming.

I think you can't really reach the emotionally intense stuff without having built a genuine light, playful, connected energy, to begin with.

For me, I've just always known that women were more than capable of being able to direct.

The reason I feel like I act is because you get to live a million different lives in one. I don't have to go about my life.

Sometimes I can inhabit a feisty, vicious character. Sometimes I can inhabit a painfully shy British girl, or whatever it might be. I'm able to step into these other parts of myself. I feel like, as long as I keep doing that in my career, and I keep tapping into different parts of the human condition, that's all I ask for.

It's great to do theater and have the live response and know what that can bring to a performance. I like to juggle as many mediums as I can.

I'm never much of a goal-setter. Whenever I've tried to make big, solid plans, they don't happen. I'm more into whatever the circumstances are that present themselves, making wise decisions around that.

I am inspired by working professionals who find lots of time for family and friends. It is easy to get caught up in a career, and I personally aspire to maintain strong connections with the people who matter most to me.

I think having healthy relationships makes me feel much more confident and available to do good work as an actor.

I make time to exercise at least four times a week. I mix up running, yoga, barre classes, and rock-climbing to get a full workout. I also follow my mum and dad's nutritional advice and eat a variety of colors on my plate. Plenty of fruit and vegetables.

I really struggled moving from New Zealand to the United States. I still have very strong ties to my home, and it took me a couple of years to feel settled in Los Angeles. Fortunately, I have a great group of friends and found the places where I enjoy spending my time. Finding beaches to get to made me feel much more plugged into the environment here.

I always find time to read novels and poetry as well as scripts; I like to enjoy different kinds of storytelling. I spend time at the beach and with my loved ones. I like traveling to unfamiliar places to challenge my perspectives and glean wisdom from other ways of life.

Exercise is great for endorphins, and I come from a very outdoorsy upbringing, so that means a lot to me.

It is so important to remember that, while I love my job, there are other fantastic avenues to explore in my life.