Rosemarie DeWitt

(When asked what the hardest part of working on "Standoff" is) Rosemarie: The hardest thing about it… because it's great, there's really no way to complain about it because it's a great job - is that it's hard to make it good. It's a new show. It really has to figure out what it wants to be. Everyone has to let that happen, but at the same time work really hard.

(On what it's like to have a starring role on a TV series.) Rosemarie: It's good. It's good to feel used up at the end of the day – like you're working hard. It's hard sometimes to wear all the different hats, because you're trying to keep on top of the writing and make sure that you feel like the writers are serving Emily. You're trying to flesh her out. You want her to be a three-dimensional character.

(On Ron Howard's reaction to her audition for "Cinderella Man") Rosemarie: After I read for him, I think he literally said, "Oh. You're good..." I think he was surprised. He thought I was a hair dresser and I was pretending I was an actor or something.

(About being in the film "Cinderella Man") Rosemarie: It was so surreal. It was honestly the best. It was one of my favorite experiences I've ever had as an actor.

(On the difference between TV and theatre) Rosemarie: The main difference is you play out someone's story every night in its entirety. When you watch an episode of Standoff, we shoot that over eight days or nine days. [In theatre] you play the whole thing every night. That's great. That's fun. You get the immediate reaction from the audience. That's completely exhilarating and exciting. Then at the same time, if you have a huge funeral scene, you can't lose your mind, because you have to do it again seven more times that week. On camera, you can sometimes go a little bit deeper. Although, TV is a fast medium. It's sort of like paint by numbers rather than make a Monet. (laughs) We work super fast.

Rosemarie: I feel like the climate for actors in New York has changed. It sounds crazy to me now, but there are so many TV and film actors onstage that it almost makes more sense to do TV than do theater.

(When asked how she got involved in acting) Rosemarie: I don't know. I did all the school plays and played like… I think The Feel and The Circus in first grade. Then the parts just started getting better. I did musicals. I tried to talk myself out of it by the time I got to college. I thought if there was anything else that I could possibly do with my life that would make me happy, I should do it. Because I knew that it would be a grind. But I saw a production of Streetcar Named Desire with Frances McDormand and Blythe Danner that made me - when I was in high school - have to do it. And another one, I saw Angels in America when I was in college. I was like, that's it. I have to do it.

(When asked if she was adapting to LA life) Rosemarie: (laughs) No. Not at all. It's such culture shock. I never get used to it. I mean, I totally like it! I'm all about the hikes and nature and going down to the beach on the weekends. But there's nothing like New York, you know? For me, anyway.

(When asked if she had inherited any of her grandfather's boxing skills) Rosemarie: I was playing a stripper in a friend's movie last fall, and I knew I was going to be scantily clad. I wanted to get in shape fast so I took boxing at the gym. I thought I was pretty good at it!

(On her negotiation skills) Rosemarie: I am a professional crisis negotiator when I get off work every night. "No, he likes you! He does like you! And this is why: If he said this and you said that...." (laughs) You get good at it. At every job you take away some things from the character and bring them into your life, and you're usually pretty grateful for them.

(When asked if she ever haggles) Rosemarie: You know what, I don't do that at all because I'm terrible at it! I never get myself a bargain. But I'm getting better!

(About getting a part in "Cinderella Man") Rosemarie: Ron (Howard) met with me, but I think it was more as a courtesy - "I'll meet with her and maybe she'll share some personal anecdotes." And then I read a scene for him and he was like, "Oh, OK." (laughs) I guess he thought, "Oh, she is an actress."

(About learning to use a gun for "Standoff") Rosemarie: I was terrified about it! We went to the range, and Ron was having so much fun, and I'm like, "This is not fun at all." I was shaking, I was so scared. Cut to a month later: I'm shooting my gun on the show, and I'm like, "Can we get another take? That was fun!"

(When asked what it feels like to work 14 hours a day) Rosemarie: I was not prepared for the lack of sleep. It's a different kind of pressure. And the hardest thing I find is to get the new script while shooting. There's so much pressure on the writers and it's hard to write good female characters.

(When asked what an actor should never do) Rosemarie: Take themselves too seriously.