Ari Graynor

“I'm not nearly as brave and confident in some of the ways that I think stand-ups are.”

“I feel like I'm sort of afraid to study too much because I feel like I work as I go, but I want to study the classics and also the technical aspects of things. I'm always looking to understand more.”

“When I was a kid, I did dial the 900 numbers out of curiosity, but I was such a goodie-two-shoes that I immediately hung up because I didn't want it showing up on the bill.”

“I had been doing theater since I was a kid, so the stage really felt like home to me. It felt like the place where I trust myself the most in the world and felt the most confident.”

“My deepest fear about doing TV, especially about doing a network comedy, was what if it felt too surface-y? What if it felt too jokey?”

“I started acting because it was essentially the way I needed to survive and equalize my inner life.”

“I've been calling myself 'just an actor' since I was 6 years old. That's a long time.”

“I was playing a lot of bigger, sort-of-comedic characters in slightly heightened realities, and it had been so fun and fulfilling for a long time. But it got to a point where I just felt like I didn't have that in me anymore.”

“As a kid, I watched a lot of TV.”

“As an actor, these kinds of big-comedic-centerpiece characters is just one thing that I love to do.”

“I think most people have experienced that at some point: being on one end or the other of a super-unbalanced relationship.”

“For years, I said I didn't want to do television. It was just a hard 'no.' I didn't want to read anything. It didn't matter what it was - it was just 'no.'”

“You can only really hear the beat of your own drum if you give yourself the space to sit in it.”

“Henry Winkler is the most lovable man. He is like everybody's favorite grandfather.”

“There's a lot of schlock out there.”

“There are a lot of female characters out there that, when they fall on hard times, they sort of stew in their fears and negativities and vulnerabilities. And there's something that's really truthful about that - when I've gone through hard times or breakups, I've spent a lot of time on my couch overeating and crying with friends, that's true.”

“Numb3rs' was a wonderful gift because I had not worked in six months. It was so fun to be on that set doing these crazy things.”

“I didn't want to study theater or go to school in the city. I wanted the all-American 'Here's your quad' college experience.”

“It is frustrating that people have a hard time telling other female stories besides, 'Is she going to get the guy?'”

“It took me a solid four or five years to feel really comfortable in front of the camera.”