Gayle Rankin

“I just feel lucky to have had my training at Juilliard. Even though it is a 'classical' training programme, they also prepare you for all mediums. They don't teach specific techniques or subscribe to a specific school of thought about acting.”

“All of my characters, I feel, have some essence of who I am in them.”

“There is magic in Scotland. It's country with a lot of pride and bravery. I feel lucky to have been born into that.”

“'Calamity Jane' inspired me to be a performer. I still want to be her.”

“I can swing widely in both directions of helpful or not.”

“I always get compared to looking like a silent movie star - though I don't know if that's a compliment, honestly.”

“I fell in love with it after going there on holiday when I was 16: we went on one of those red bus tours, and it goes past Juilliard, and I was like, 'I want to go there'.”

“When I've known something is right, the actual doing of it is not scary. It's like being onstage or performing. After it and before it, there might be a lot of fear, but the act of it is never scary for me.”

“I sometimes get starstruck when I meet people who I didn't necessarily know what they look like, like directors or DPs, if I'm a huge fan of theirs.”

“There's a misconception about wrestling, that it's really fake, but it's real, and you can really get hurt, even though a lot of it is performative.”

“If you put me in a box, I'm a character actor. The thing that keeps popping up for me - it sounds really cliche - but I want to play something really physically challenging, something extremely demanding and strong.”

“I went to school at Juilliard, and most of our training there is the classics, and as much as I thrive in contemporary, weird, experimental work, I really am excited about finding a pioneer woman or something from a different era that I could really sink my teeth into.”

“I've always wanted to perform and act my whole life and to understand people more, so that's the only reason I've got to work with the people I've worked with.”

“I had a ridiculously idyllic childhood. I think back and am like, 'Wow. I was so naive, in the best way.'”

“I spent the first 16 years of my life in Scotland. My whole family is there. It's in my blood and informs my sense of humour, my point of view, the people I choose to spend time with, everything.”

“I didn't think I was right for 'Cabaret'.”

“I could legitimately put someone in a headlock, for sure.”

“I would ask my mum to feed my dolls and make sure they were tucked in when I went to school.”

“Naivete is the real reason I applied to Juilliard. I wanted to study drama and not musical theater because I have a hard time dancing. I only applied there.”

“I was never interested in 'making up' games when I was little. I wanted to create something real.”