Allison Janney

If you know more information about Allison Janney help us to improve this page

Birthday:

19 November 1959, Dayton, Ohio, USA

Birth Name:

Allison Brooks Janney

Height:

183 cm

Allison Janney is an award-winning actress who has earned a solid reputation in stage productions and in many supporting roles on screen, and who more recently has become prominent by portraying one of the major characters in the popular TV series The West Wing (1999).Entertainment Weekly magazine describes Janney's screen presence as "uncommonly beautiful and infinitely expressive". As an actor, the magazine deems her to be "one to watch".Janney was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Macy Brooks (Putnam), a former actress, and Jervis Spencer Janney, Jr., a real estate developer and jazz musician. While studying at Kenyon College, Janney answered a casting call for an on-campus play that was to be directed by Kenyon's most famous alumnus, the legendary actor Paul Newman. During her audition/interview, Janney played upon Newman's known passion for race car driving - she explained how she cut thirty minutes off of the 130 mile journey from her home town to the college. She got chosen for the play's cast.After earning her degree in drama, Janney took Joanne Woodward's suggestion to do further study at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. She also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.Early in her career Janney got comedic roles in the soap operas As the World Turns (1956) and The Guiding Light (1952). Later, she gave memorable movie performances in supporting roles in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), American Beauty (1999) and Nurse Betty (2000), and in the made-for-TV movie ...First Do No Harm (1997), among others.Among her stage work, Janney has played in a revival of Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" on Broadway opposite Anthony LaPaglia, which earned her a Tony Award nomination, and a Drama League Award for outstanding artist for the 1997-98 season. She played in Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" opposite Frank Langella, which earned her the Outer Critics Circle Award and an Actors' Equity award. Janney also appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of "The Taming of the Shrew".In 1999 Janney became part of the original cast of the acclaimed TV series The West Wing (1999) where she played the President's press secretary who eventually gets promoted to the White House Chief of Staff. Her impressive work during the seven seasons of that renowned series earned her four Emmys and two SAG Awards.With her reputation becoming more broadly established during her work on "The West Wing" Janney won more substantive roles in feature films, in the acclaimed The Hours (2002) where she was Meryl Streep's lesbian lover, and in How to Deal (2003) where she played Mandy Moore's mother. Show less «

[on her towering height] Years ago, one casting agent told me that the only roles I could play were lesbians and aliens.

[on staying sane and happy] Dogs tether you to the earth in some really good way. And exercise, of course. And martinis. And sexy high heels...Show more »

[on staying sane and happy] Dogs tether you to the earth in some really good way. And exercise, of course. And martinis. And sexy high heels. That's it. Good work, a nice pair of heels, a martini, a dog and a man - not necessarily in that order. [Living Fit magazine] Show less «

Listen, I'm an actor. I can make anyone believe anything. I don't have to know what the hell I'm talking about.

I hate auditioning so much. I like people who go, "You know what? Allison can do this.".

[2011, on making Mr. Sunshine (2011)] Oh my God. I mean, it was just a candy store for me. I had so much fun playing her, and I wish I could...Show more »

[2011, on making Mr. Sunshine (2011)] Oh my God. I mean, it was just a candy store for me. I had so much fun playing her, and I wish I could've gone on playing her, because she was really fun. I love to play those absurd women. And I got to sing with James Taylor! If nothing else, I got to do that. And Matthew Perry is pretty great to work with, too. I had a great time. I'm sorry and sad it didn't go, but, geez, I'm glad I got to do that. Show less «

[2011, on Big Night (1996)] Oh, well, Stanley Tucci, love of my life. I did a play with him and got to know him, and he was talking about th...Show more »

[2011, on Big Night (1996)] Oh, well, Stanley Tucci, love of my life. I did a play with him and got to know him, and he was talking about this movie he was doing, that he was getting together. And I just loved him so much that I wanted to be around him, so I said, "Stanley, let me be part of this movie. I will be craft services. I will be your script girl. Just let me be part of this in some way". And he called me up in my New York City apartment one day and said, "Allison, I want you to play the part of "Ann", the flower lady in Big Night". He just called and offered that to me. And that was one of the happiest movie sets I've ever been on. The most fun. Such difficult hours, but I was hanging out with Marc Anthony! He had a wordless part in that movie, and he and I became friends. We were so silly, hanging out together. And I loved Campbell Scott. I was just so happy to be there that I could've worked 24-hour days and not complained a bit. I was having such a great time. Really one of my favorite movies I got to do. Show less «

[2011, on Lost (2004)] Most difficult acting job I've ever had to do in my life. Didn't enjoy acting outdoors, in streams and in the element...Show more »

[2011, on Lost (2004)] Most difficult acting job I've ever had to do in my life. Didn't enjoy acting outdoors, in streams and in the elements. It was very hard. I had to loop most of my performance for that. That's what I want to say about that: I had to loop for 10 hours. That was not fun. I don't like looping. And it was a weird decision, I think, in my career to do that, 'cause I... I don't know, I thought it'd be fun to be part of such a pop-culture thing. But it was quite difficult to do, and I felt a little lost myself during Lost (2004). Show less «

[2011, on The West Wing (1999)] The most impactful role I've ever played. Life-changing. A life-changing role, in terms of my notoriety, if ...Show more »

[2011, on The West Wing (1999)] The most impactful role I've ever played. Life-changing. A life-changing role, in terms of my notoriety, if you want to call it that, opening doors to meeting the kinds of people I never would've met in a million years. Going to Washington and being invited to the White House, going to the Foreign Correspondents' Dinner. It just opened a million doors and broadened my life so much, and brought so much to me. I was so proud of being a part of a groundbreaking show like that. It was life-changing, and I'll be forever grateful for it. Show less «

[2011, "Ginger" on The Guiding Light (1952)] That was my first professional job as an actress in New York City, and I felt like I had made i...Show more »

[2011, "Ginger" on The Guiding Light (1952)] That was my first professional job as an actress in New York City, and I felt like I had made it! I was thrilled. It afforded me... Well, I could pay my rent on what I made! It was the first time I kind of started making a living. I could pay for my rent and for other things. I started being able to take my friends out to dinner. It was my first real salary as an actress. So that was pretty big. Show less «

[2011, on Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)] I think I get more people coming up to me saying how much they love that movie than any other thing I'v...Show more »

[2011, on Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)] I think I get more people coming up to me saying how much they love that movie than any other thing I've done. Even more than The West Wing (1999), I have to say. That movie is a cult classic, and that was a great part. I did a lot of improv in that part, and... It was a long time shooting up there for me. I hung out a lot at the Mall Of America to get that accent down, 'cause that was a hard accent to do right. And I think I got it pretty right. But Ellen Barkin was a dream to work with. Hysterical. Show less «

[2011, on 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)] My first big movie where I got money. Where I got real money that I put in the bank. That was v...Show more »

[2011, on 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)] My first big movie where I got money. Where I got real money that I put in the bank. That was very important to me... And to my father. I remember having dinner with him, telling him, "Dad, I just got cast in this part, and they're paying me blank amount of money", and it was enough to put in the bank and save. And he was very proud of me. [Director] Gil Junger, he was very fun to work with, and he encouraged me to be very silly. And Heath Ledger, that was one of his first movies over here, and he was such a sweet guy and very handsome. And genuinely kind. That's what I remember about him. It was before his career took off, but I just thought, "There's a guy who's going to do well", and I was impressed by the fact that he was so kind and nice. And he remembered my name. I thought that was sweet. Show less «

I get cast as either the smartest woman in the room or the drunkest woman in the room, and a lot of stuff in between.

Always go to bed with clean feet. That's from my grandma.