Estelle Parsons

Estelle Parsons stars as 'Dottie' in Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway production of David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People, directed by Daniel Sullivan, which played at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from 8 Feb - 29 May 2011.

Birthday
November 20, 1927.

Place of birth?
Lynn Hospital, Lynn, Massachusetts.

You now live in?
New York City.

Did you go to training school, if so which one?
No. I worked in community theatre from the age of 6

As an actor, do you have a preference for stage, tv or film?
Stage.

Your first stage performance was?
As a frog in a children's play with the Tavern Players in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Career highlight to date?
Miss Margarida's Way.

What roles would you most like to play?
Complicated ones that make the audience laugh. I love that, like Dottie in Good People.

What is the best advice you have ever received?
Never received any.

What has been your most embarrassing moment on stage?
Don't recall any.

What is the most annoying part about your job?
How could it be annoying to work on the stage and have audiences appreciate you?

Briefly tell us how you become involved with Good People?
David Lindsay-Abaire's babysitter told me about it.

Briefly tell us about the character you play in The Importance of Being Earnest?
A mature lady who has seen it all and worries she'll die because she doesn't go to the doctor.

If you had not become a performer, what might you have done instead?
Killed myself?

Who are your favorite actors/actresses?
Marlon Brando and Kim Stanle.

What was the last book you read, and name some of your favorite authors?
The Longest War by Peter L. Bergen, Lytton Strachey, Tony Judt, Kurban Said, Robert Dessaix.

What was the last film you saw, and name some of your favorite movies?
Don't go to the movies much

Favorite TV programs?
Don't watch TV

Favorite holiday destinations?
Wilderness.

What are your future plans?
Good People.