I think that there is a real beauty to the live aspect of the theater, and the working with a director for a month on a script in the isolation of a room and really deeply delving into who are these people, what is the story we're telling, how do we want to tell it?

Karen Allen

I thought, I need to reinvent myself. I want every day of life to be wonderful, fascinating, interesting, creative. And what am I gonna do to make that happen?

Karen Allen

creative interesting needs

I was so lucky. I was very broke and I was taking classes at Lee Strasberg's Institute and I saw a 3 X 5 index card on the bulletin board advertising for college-aged girls for a film. That was Animal House.

Karen Allen

girl college animal

Let's just say I decided that while my son is young I don't want to do projects that would take me away for months.

Karen Allen

months want son

For me, the motivation really was to work with Al Pacino. To me, that seemed like an incredible opportunity, just a learning opportunity because I thought so highly of him.

Karen Allen

als motivation opportunity

People want to see a movie that casts a mature woman across from a mature man.

Karen Allen

want men people

I don't necessarily like being defined by my profession.

Karen Allen

profession defined

I just felt like I had to create a life for myself where I was more independent.

Karen Allen

independent felt

In the theater, actors are the essential element of the work. In a film, it's a real collaboration - not that theater isn't, because it is - but it's a collaboration to such an extent that you can give a performance in film that sometimes you look at and you go, "Well, that's not the performance I was trying to give at all."

Karen Allen

real trying giving

I loved living and breathing theatre so much that I decided I had to find a way to bring my desire to act and my ability to support myself together. I'd run through the possibilities in Washington, so that meant moving to New York.

Karen Allen

new-york running moving

Idleness does drive me crazy, but I'd rather read or write than do anything just to work. A kind of respect has been instilled in me for acting: I love it too much to ever have a bad relationship with it.

Karen Allen

bad-relationship crazy writing

As far as acting in films, there is not much out there that is very interesting to do. The ones that are interesting to me are independent films and they have trouble raising money. With people putting their money into blockbusters, there is not much left for the independents.

Karen Allen

independent people interesting

When I read a film script, I kind of see it in my head and I see the moments that shape what I understand the character to be. There's very little time for rehearsal.

Karen Allen

rehearsal shapes character

I said to myself, 'I've waited a long time in my life to have a child, and I'm missing it, I want to continue to have a career, but not this way.

Karen Allen

careers long children

My son was born somewhat late in my life and I just found myself really feeling like I didn't want to miss out on being a parent and being with him, and not wanting a situation where I was constantly pulled back and forth between being present, and having all these other pressures and considerations.

Karen Allen

parent missing son

Caregivers of those with a traumatic brain injury had their blood pressure recorded at certain time of day -- at meals and during other activities, .. The blood pressure of the people who had adopted the pets went down dramatically.

Karen Allen

brain blood people

I try to offer as much as I can to the director so he has as much to work with as possible to create the character that, really, he wants to create in a sense.

Karen Allen

trying character directors

I'm from a generation of fantastic actresses. It's a big pool of really wonderful actresses, and so many of them we never even get to see on the screen anymore.

Karen Allen

actresses generations wonderful

A lot of times when I've been offered film series and stuff, if they shoot in Los Angeles, I lose interest.

Karen Allen

los-angeles film stuff

I don't know if I've ever played a character who's close to me. There have been some elements of myself in different roles. Sometimes, I show one side of myself and then completely conceal the other.

Karen Allen

roles different character

As actors, the magic is in the almost spiritual experience to really enter another world, to really enter a belief of being in another person's shoes and to really take on their experiences as someone else has written them and imagined them. It's kind of a sacred thing. It's a very spiritual experience. That in itself for me is the main thing that keeps me coming back to it. I like to travel, but for me, this is the greatest travel.

Karen Allen

shoes magic spiritual