“I've paid my dues. It wasn't overnight success. I went to tons of cast...” — Madchen Amick Quote

I've paid my dues. It wasn't overnight success. I went to tons of casting calls and auditions... But I've got to give luck some credit.

It's not very often that you get to come up with ideas and bring your take on the character and then actually have writers, producers, and directors pay attention to it.

It's great to have female characters that have depth that you can explore instead of being the decoration or the girlfriend or the wife.

I think the amazing thing about 'Twin Peaks' was that it completely changed television from that point forward. It showed everyone that you can just sit really quiet with storylines and characters. It can be scary, it can be uncomfortable, it can be weirdly funny.

Choirs, auditions, talent shows, I was doing it all.

I don't consider my fights as auditions, I consider them performances.

I have friends that are much better actors than I am that had to quit the business because they couldn't survive the auditions or the rejections, or people just didn't realize how good they were.

I like to wear my dad's shoes to auditions as sort of a lucky thing. I feel like I'm on solid ground.

I grew up in Iowa, and the improv comedy club Comedy-Sportz across the river in Illinois held auditions. They took me even though I was only 16 - you really had to be 18, but they never checked me for ID.