Evelyn Renée O'Connor (born February 15, 1971) is an American actress, producer, and director known for the role of Gabrielle on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
Just believe in yourself and to find spirituality that’s going to carry you. Because all the rest is just fluff.
Painting is a hobby for me.
I always thought I would be a marine biologist because I love the sea - but considering the fact that I've always loved acting and the theater, I don't think I ever gave anything else much of a chance.
When Xena finished I just really wanted to work with Shakespeare's material.
I think you have to have different tools for each job - you know producer is very different from a director and very different from an actor.
But it just comes down to trying to get the work out there and however the team fits together then that's the way it sort of plays into itself.
It's very hard to become an actor in film and television, you have to have such perseverance and you have to really believe that if you have any sort of talent at all, you will find work one day.
And not to mean that I think I'm some special person, but I think we're all here for a very specific reason and once you figure out what that is then you're on the right track and we're all on the ride together.
I wouldn't say that I'm overly religious, but I have a pretty good relationship with my spiritual being.
I think the joy of wanting to direct is having that nervous anxiety knowing your film is about to be shown and you're sitting right there with everyone.
In film and television you have to be able to see the whole picture in a different way than you do on the stage because you shoot out of order and you're working with technology.
And I think because there is an essence of me that cares about other people and what other people think then that then makes me seem very sweet and polite.
I love actors who are wonderful - like John Cusack and Russell Crowe, and wouldn't it be a treat to eventually direct them one day.
But on stage you're able to just take the character from one point to the end and it's a fluid, organic piece. It's about being completely present all the time, right there in the moment.
I find that actors who are wanting to pursue tv or films don't seem to have much interest in classical theatre.
I believe I have a lot to learn in life, still.
I’ve been looking at oil paintings from oriental artists lately, and the one artist who’s inspired me right now is a man named Hokusai and I’ve had his book by my bed looking at how he interprets landscapes – mountains and water and flowers and birds.
I think I'll always be a theater gypsy at heart.
We are always just trying to be strong and yet in touch with our bodies and the only way you can really do that is to believe in yourself because that’s all that you have.
I believe over the last six years now, I've been learning in between actual acting moments on the show.