Nina Conti Quotes

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Nina Conti

Profession : Actress

Birth : June 5, 1974

It's sad, the lottery. Good projects get funded by it, but there's an air of desperation about it.

Nina Conti

Having a puppet is a way of having opposing opinions - I say a thing; he says the other.

Nina Conti

I could never be on stage on my own. But puppets can say things that humans can't say.

Nina Conti

My puppets are far more liberated than I am. Ventriloquism is a useful way of expressing myself.

Nina Conti

I've started running three or four times a week, which prompts millions of sketch ideas.

Nina Conti

I thought people would think I only wanted to be an actor because my dad was, rather than because I had an innate calling.

Nina Conti

When I'm gigging, there's an uneasy shift when I pull a puppet out. People look at me aghast and I feel I have about 20 seconds to win them over. You even get the prejudice among other people in your own profession.

Nina Conti

I was really awful at auditions. There's something about sitting down and saying into the camera: 'I'm Nina and this is the name of my agent.' That makes me just die inside.

Nina Conti

The character of the monkey just grew from something out of his face and my granddad's personality. They fused, and that's what I ended up with! The monkey belonged to a friend of mine, and I saw that it had such a little beguiling face and it grew from there.

Nina Conti

I don't want to tie myself into one area or the other. I think its important not to rely heavily on either TV or stand-up, but to let them work off of each other.

Nina Conti

The most satisfaction I get is from doing a good gig, which really makes you feel in control. If you've worked a room really well, it makes you feel great. TV is a bit more difficult; there are more factors that can screw it up along the way.

Nina Conti

I will remember the night I won the New Comedy Awards, as I was young and unformed, so that sticks in the mind. I've also done a fantastic gig at the Royal Albert Hall, which was amazing. Appearing in the Christopher Guest film was also a real highlight, even if I was only in it for a couple of minutes.

Nina Conti

I do laugh when I hear myself saying, 'I am a ventriloquist.' I am definitely suited to it, though. I took it and ran with it quite hungrily. It is not for everyone, but it is just the chance to write for a character.

Nina Conti

So many actors are lively-minded, creative people who just tread water in this awful way, waiting for the phone to ring and doing their hair for auditions. It feels like a bit of a dreamer's life - as opposed to a sensible ventriloquist's life.

Nina Conti

If I have a gig in the evening, I get 'the doom' at about 5 P.M., when I think I'm getting flu.

Nina Conti

Acting is seductive. It looks so much fun. I did dally with other things. I did pupillage in a law firm, but I didn't like the look of how many files the lawyer I was working with had to take home every night. It looked like a hideous amount of work, when actors were having nice lunches and discussing books.

Nina Conti

I always said I wanted to be scientist, but I didn't really have the staying power.

Nina Conti

I had a terrible dream when I was pregnant; I dreamt the baby had a ventriloquial mouth, but there was no hand hole; I had to flick the mouth down to get words out.

Nina Conti

I like my squishy, red, high-heeled Vivienne Westwood jelly shoes. They make you seem like you're much more of a go-er.

Nina Conti

My dad is a much more flamboyant character than I am. I think that's why I couldn't see myself going into straight acting. I always just felt daft.

Nina Conti