My father, John, ran the Dowd Insurance Co. in town, which was started by his great-grandfather. My mother, Dolores, was a homemaker who kept an eye on all of us. Ann Dowd More Quotes by Ann Dowd More Quotes From Ann Dowd I think women are used to stepping up and getting the job done when you need to. Ann Dowd jobs needs thinking Life gets more interesting as it goes on. It becomes fuller because there is perspective there. Ann Dowd perspective goes-on interesting TV is terrific. It's really fast paced which I find difficult. Ann Dowd terrific difficult tvs I guess getting older has its benefits, one of them being perspective. Ann Dowd getting-old getting-older perspective I have to say my background was mostly theatre, which I love, and it took a long time to feel comfortable there. That's probably true of anyone's career. Ann Dowd theatre careers long It's a question of dropping the armor and getting up and doing the work you want to do. And film at first is frightening because you are like, 'What's that camera doing?' But then it becomes family and therefore a really wonderful experience. Ann Dowd armor cameras want At some point you realize, I have dreams. I would love to be working on wonderful roles, in wonderful films, with people I respect and admire. And that will come in its time. In the meantime, "Pay attention to your work. Get better at what you do." That's my job. Ann Dowd dream jobs people The lovely thing is that now being offered things is just a blast. In the beginning, I'd be offered something and be like, "What? What do you mean? Are they sure?" And now, I have less shock about it. It's just a real pleasure. It's a privilege. Ann Dowd lovely real mean In actor's career, I had a fair amount of denial, which I think is possibly in the genes, where I just couldn't go to, "Maybe this won't work out." I just couldn't do it. My mind just refused to go there. I don't mean there weren't low periods. There were plenty. But I remember arriving in New York and I was maybe 32, and I didn't have an agent. I came from Chicago, where I had gone to school and worked and got my sea legs, so to speak, and I remember walking out of the subway, walking the streets, standing in front of the theater and saying, "I will work in this theater." Ann Dowd mean school thinking It took a very long time to really enjoy an audition, and to get in the room and do the best that I can. I've just been deeply grateful for my career, and that the love for the work and the characters is alive still. I try to let go of the armor as much as possible and not be afraid. Ann Dowd grateful letting-go character I always felt like a successful actor when I got a job. Ann Dowd successful The first day of shooting, you always want to turn around and go home and say, "What was I thinking?!," and put your head under a pillow and weep. I could maybe go five weeks, and then the nerves would set in about when the next job was going to happen. Ann Dowd week home thinking I can say that I am, by nature, optimistic. Ann Dowd optimistic My basic thought about actors, and I would say this to my students - I love to teach, but I haven't in awhile because I've been fortunate enough to be working - that, "If this is the work you love, there is work for you. That's how the world works. That's the attitude you have to go in there with. You just have to know that it's coming." Ann Dowd students attitude world I love the roles that I'm having the chance to play, and I've learned to just let go a little. Children teach you that, every day. Life is large, so do the best you can and move on. Do everything you can in a given day, and then let it go. Ann Dowd letting-go children moving To me, being an actor is the best job in the land, next to being a mother and having a family and a husband. I just think it's the realization of, "Hey, this is the greatest situation in the world." Ann Dowd husband mother thinking I think aging is underrated. As you grow older, you have perspective and you realize just how fortunate you are to be working. To be working with the people I've had the chances to work with, I honestly feel like the most fortunate person in the world. I think it's hugely important when you work to bring with you that spirit, which includes and immense sense of gratitude. How that translates into behavior is just to bring your energy, your good spirit and your appreciation, and do your homework and really listen to the person in front of you. Ann Dowd gratitude appreciation thinking I was educated by nuns. None of them, of course, did anything resembling the actions of Lydia from The Handmaid's Tale, but they taught me a work ethic, that I had to toe the line, that I had to step up and do my work, and that we would stay until it was done, and that came from a devotion to making you the best person you can be. That's the take I have on Lydia. She knows her actions are firm and sometimes very harsh, but she also looks after them. Ann Dowd ethics work-ethic done Damon Lindelof is hypnotizing. His imagination is without limits, and Tom Perrotta, as well. You begin to just trust, completely, where the story is going, knowing that you're entirely safe in the truthfulness of it. Ann Dowd truthfulness damon imagination The Leftovers was an absolutely extraordinary experience. After the first season of learning to work with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, and all of the writers, you didn't question it because it all made sense. Because Damon knows those characters so well and has thought it through so well, there was never a time that I asked a question where it wasn't answered fully. Ann Dowd damon extraordinary character
