I always said I wanted to be scientist, but I didn't really have the staying power. Nina Conti More Quotes by Nina Conti More Quotes From Nina Conti With acting, I always felt like I didn't have control of it. It was all about other people giving me a job. Nina Conti jobsgivingpeople I feel Scottish when with English people, and when I'm with Scottish people, I realise I'm English. Nina Conti scottishfeelspeople I had a terrible dream when I was pregnant; I dreamt the baby had a ventriloquial mouth, but there was no hand hole; I had to flick the mouth down to get words out. Nina Conti dreambabyhands I do laugh when I hear myself saying, 'I am a ventriloquist.' I am definitely suited to it, though. I took it and ran with it quite hungrily. It is not for everyone, but it is just the chance to write for a character. Nina Conti writingcharacterlaughing I was really awful at auditions. There's something about sitting down and saying into the camera: "I'm Nina and this is the name of my agent." That makes me just die inside. Nina Conti sitting-downcamerasnames I could never be on stage on my own. But puppets can say things that humans can't say. Nina Conti puppetsstagehumans I looked into studying psychoanalysis, wrote to the governing body and was about to start the year where they psychoanalyse you, four times a week, before you get to do it yourself. I just thought I'd taken the ventriloquism as far as I could. My act is so deconstructive, and I'd made all the monkey jokes anyone wanted to hear. Nina Conti bodytakenyears I thought people would think I only wanted to be an actor because my dad was, rather than because I had an innate calling. Nina Conti dadpeoplethinking If I have a gig in the evening, I get 'the doom' at about 5 P.M., when I think I'm getting flu. Nina Conti gigsfluthinking I've started running three or four times a week, which prompts millions of sketch ideas. Nina Conti threerunningideas I like my squishy, red, high-heeled Vivienne Westwood jelly shoes. They make you seem like you're much more of a go-er. Nina Conti jellyshoesred I think I've got it pretty easy compared with somebody who works at a desk nine to five. I'm just working for an hour in the evening. I get a bit breathless, as I have to talk non-stop because of the puppets. Nina Conti puppetsninethinking Because I'm around comedians all the time, in my downtime I tend not to watch comedy. Something the whole family enjoys is 'You've Been Framed!' It satisfies all of us. It's universal, and we all laugh a lot. Nina Conti comedianlaughingwatches Having a puppet is a way of having opposing opinions - I say a thing; he says the other. Nina Conti puppetsopinionway The way I talk to the puppets is real, and it's in the moment, and it's seeing what will happen. It's not something that is scripted. Nina Conti puppetsrealway I think acting is overrated. I'm not sure I enjoyed it. You never get to write your own roles. It's wonderful for some people, but I found it nerve-wracking. I was too busy worrying that no one would give me their words to speak. Nina Conti worrywritingthinking My dad is a much more flamboyant character than I am. I think that's why I couldn't see myself going into straight acting. I always just felt daft. Nina Conti dadcharacterthinking I make napkins talk in restaurants, socks talk on car journeys. There is an awful lot of puppetry going on in the house. Nina Conti carjourneyhouse Once I'm on stage, there's just no time for a sip of water - I've always got my hands in puppets! My voice is raw by the time I finish. Nina Conti voicetimewaterhands Acting is seductive. It looks so much fun. I did dally with other things. I did pupillage in a law firm, but I didn't like the look of how many files the lawyer I was working with had to take home every night. It looked like a hideous amount of work, when actors were having nice lunches and discussing books. Nina Conti lawyerworkhomenight
