I don't really know what 'American' is. I know what Ukrainian is. We're happy Slavic people. We're not Dostoyevsky Slavic people. There's this sense of 'pick it up, get your hands dirty, make the best of it, celebrate.' Nina Arianda More Quotes by Nina Arianda More Quotes From Nina Arianda My favorite place to vacation is anyplace by the ocean. Nina Arianda favorite-places vacation ocean When I was 13, I moved from New Jersey to Germany with my family. The high school was so supportive of my dream to continue with my theater training; instead of taking PE, I would get credit for dance lessons. Nina Arianda training dream school If I'm having a bad day in rehearsal, I'll sleep with my script. Nina Arianda rehearsal bad-day sleep I think having pointers and having guidance from mentors is very important, but it never actually embodies what you go through. And if something doesn't feel good, why do you repeat it? If you feel good bemoaning an audition for a week, go for it. But if you feel better bemoaning an audition that didn't go very well for 30 minutes because you believe in the craft and the process, then I suggest you do that. And that's what I suggest to myself. The alternative is way too painful and destructive. Nina Arianda feel-better believe thinking I've had a very supportive mother my entire life, so I've had strong women around me. Nina Arianda strong-women strong mother I was into opera as a kid - I'd play 'Carmen' and sing and dance. My mom signed me up for a theater group before preschool, and I never looked back. Nina Arianda mom play kids I think if you want to get to know me, you should come and see a show. A person might get to see more sides of me. Nina Arianda want might thinking It present to allow me to ask myself questions about what I'm doing. I think that's what visual art does - it either reminds you of something or allows you to question something. I don't know why Robert Motherwell; I love so many different artists. Nina Arianda different art thinking I see something new in 'Gosford Park' every time I watch it. Nina Arianda parks something-new watches Now that I'm on Broadway, it's like NASA engineering with the costumes. I was very grateful for the slightly more high-tech ones in my show, 'Venus in Fur'; our costume designer Anita Yavich is kind of a genius. Nina Arianda fur engineering grateful I had a year at 3 when I wanted to be a conductor in the opera. Nina Arianda opera wanted years I think the way that I delivered my request for acting was undeniable, and I think that I was blessed enough to have parents who saw it as something that there was no argument about. For that, I will always be grateful. Nina Arianda grateful blessed thinking I can't have white roses. They symbolize death. Nina Arianda white-rose white rose I'm mildly obsessed with skin care. I do a lot of masks at home, like Elisha Coy's Korean Collagen masks. I also use an embarrassingly wide variety of facial creams. Nina Arianda skins use home I would feel ill without theater. It's kind of a cliche, but every time you make a mistake, you really do have to learn from it to move on. When you're doing something live, there's no time to dwell. Hopefully you'll laugh it off, but if not, you can always take a day to hate yourself. Nina Arianda hate mistake moving My earliest memory is having my grandfather, who was born in 1899, read the newspaper to me in a foreign language. I was utterly captivated by the fact that he took the time to read it to me. I didn't know what he saying, it was in a completely different language. I think it was in French. But I was just so honored that he was with me and talking to me. It's extraordinary that you know someone from that time, and also someone that's willing to give you the time of day, who's lived through so much. Nina Arianda giving memories thinking I was a hostess, I sold shoes, but I don't function well in jobs that don't have to do with what I love. I have cleaned bathrooms in theaters, I have sold wine in theaters, I have sold tickets, because I will do anything, anything, to stay in this world. Nina Arianda shoes wine jobs I got last-minute rush seats to Baz Luhrmann's 'Boheme,' and my favorite singer, Ekaterina Solovyeva, was playing Mimi that day. My face got burned off when she sang the aria 'Donde Lieta Usci.' The woman was technically sobbing and singing opera at the same time. I don't know how you do that. Nina Arianda opera singers singing Going to the theater or having the honor of performing in theater reminds you of your humanity in a very different way. It's a real release and an incredible challenge. But the stage is a dangerous place. You gotta be trained. Plus, crowds like when things go wrong. I think that's part of the thrill. Anything can happen. Nina Arianda real challenges thinking I had never been in a New York courtroom. I think I went on a field trip when I was nine in New Jersey, but I never actually set foot as an adult and it was terrifying. It's very sterile, somehow. It seems so grand in the movies and it's so sterile when you're actually there. Nina Arianda courtroom thinking
