When I was little, I was very loud and loved performing in front of people. I was fearless. When I hit puberty, I became very shy and self-conscious. I still get nervous sometimes before shooting and definitely before big auditions.
You're out there on a high wire without a net, and that's the way actors operate. They have to be fearless about how they work and they have to create a life for the audience in 90 minutes and make them believe.
The heroines in 'That's What She Said' are flawed, messy, damaged, hilarious and culpable and not really concerned about being acceptable to the audience in any traditional sense, which for me is what makes them all the more gorgeous. And the fearless truth of that is what makes it funny.
I definitely suffered from stage fright. I had to work really hard to come out of my shell. When I was little, I was very loud and loved performing in front of people. I was fearless. When I hit puberty, I became very shy and self-conscious.
Any of Bette Midler's concerts should be required viewing for every actor/performer. She has the audience in the palm of her hands at all times and can switch emotions on a dime: Great singer, great actress, great comedian - fearless.
I have a ladybug on my wrist that I got when I was doing 'John Tucker Must Die,' and I have a tattoo on my ankle that's in Sanskrit that says 'Fearless.'
Survival is not about being fearless. It's about making a decision, getting on and doing it, because I want to see my kids again, or whatever the reason might be.
The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly - indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.
