Rose said:

about LA: ‘There’s so much opportunity here. Politics aside, you have a lot of possibilities here that you don’t have other places. The British are so culturally themselves. That’s always a shock. They’re polite, almost to the point of pathological self-deprecation. Americans are so much more gregarious and loud and out-going and open-minded.’

‘The worst was the time I spent in Los Angeles , which runs on bullshit and clichés. But then, it’s really easy to diss the place. The physical environment of LA is really beautiful. It’s actually kinda fun, too, if you’re working. It’s just not really fun if you’re not working and you don’t know anybody.’

on love: ‘I am no stranger to wanting to fall in love. I don’t want to go out with just anyone—someone really has to get me going in my mind.’

On her most dreadful crush: ‘I used to drive, pretty pathetically, I’d just drive by their house all the time and they didn’t know who I was. I’d just drive by the house all the time. I once knocked on the window and I thought, “What am I doing? What am I going to say if they come to the door and don’t know who I am?”‘.

on acting: ‘Acting is constant rejection, and you really have to have a thick skin to keep going. You can never take no for an answer. You have to take risks.’

‘When I’m working, it’s fun and awesome and I absolutely love it. But then the next minute a project falls apart, or you’re waiting for your agent to call back about an audition. I think that’s the part you actually get paid for.’

‘I don’t take it seriously. Because I’m the one living my life. I mean, I’ve got this tiny part in this big Brad Pitt movie, and everyone here thinks I’m playing Sally to Brad Pitt’s Harry. I’m not, and I’m constantly having to say that.’

‘I think it’s important to keep an element of fear about yourself because it makes you appreciate the jobs.’

on ‘Damages’ fame: ‘New York is where I get the most feedback, because it’s a really ‘New York’ show I think. And I know when I’ve been most recognized is with women between the ages of 60 and 80. Is there like, a matinee?  Is that where I get recognized by all these women? They are like- ‘Oh my god!’ This woman came up to me in a coffee shop once and said- [in a very humorous elderly-accent] I love you in Damages, you’re fantastic!’ And I said- ‘Oh, thank you.’ And she said- ‘Oh my gawd! You’re British!’ And I said- ‘No, I’m Australian.’ And she’s like- ‘Oh my gawd I can’t believe it!”

Other People on Rose

Ben Lee (co-star)—’In her heart of hearts, Rose is fearless. She knows too much about real emotion to ever turn away from a challenge. When you talk to her, it is like part of her is watching you from the outside, studying you, weighing you up.’

George (her brother)— ‘Rose is the performer in the family; she loves the limelight.’

Paul Goldman (Director of The Night We Called It A Day) said Dennis Hopper told him— ‘in passing that he had slept with the cream of Hollywood actresses in his time and he said that Rose Byrne was as beautiful as any of them. I didn’t tell that to Rose until the end.