Jeffrey Combs
American actor (b. 1954)
Uta Thyra Hagenwas a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Table of Contents
Family Info
Siblings
Holger Hagen
Spouses
Jose Ferrer
Herbert Berghof
Children
Letty Ferrer
About the Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagenwas a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, who called her “a profoundly truthful actress.” Because Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist, in part because of her association with Paul Robeson, her film opportunities dwindled and she focused her career on New York theatre.
She later became a highly influential acting teacher at New York’s Herbert Berghof Studio and authored best-selling acting texts, Respect for Acting, with Haskel Frankel, and A Challenge for the Actor. Her most substantial contributions to theatre pedagogy were a series of “object exercises” that built on the work of Konstantin Stanislavski and Yevgeny Vakhtangov.
She was elected to the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999.
17 Quotes by Uta Hagen
- 1.
They still had the Lord Chamberlain, so we had this idiotic censorship. We were allowed three Jesus Christs instead of 10. Why three were OK, I don’t know.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 2.
We were not allowed to say, Screw, but we could say, Hump the hostess, because hump is in Shakespeare.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 3.
I have disassociated myself from that book.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 4.
Once in awhile, there’s stuff that makes me say, That’s what theatre’s about. It has to be a human event on the stage, and that doesn’t happen very often.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 5.
We had a relationship that lasted 44 years. Herbert and I lived together 10 years before we were married. He always gave me a little heart for whatever anniversary.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 6.
I won’t go to England because they won’t let my dog in.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 7.
I’m a bad liar; I don’t know what to say backstage.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 8.
Marlon was so sensitive, you thought the poor guy just had a bad education.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 9.
I love going to the movies; I love watching good movie actors. They must know something I don’t.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 10.
If you want a bourgeois existence, you shouldn’t be an actor. You’re in the wrong profession.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 11.
We must overcome the notion that we must be regular… it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 12.
Awards don’t really mean much.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 13.
I love playing Chekhov. That’s the hardest; that’s why I love it most.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 14.
Usually, someone who’s in a show gets me a ticket. I feel cornered. I can’t walk out if I don’t like it.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 15.
I think, by and large, the level of acting is mediocre. When I go to the theatre, I get so angry. I don’t go.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 16.
Working with Brando was fun. It was like a tennis match. We played unbelievably well together.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)
- 17.
Maybe the one I enjoyed playing most was A Month in the Country.
Uta HagenGerman-born American actress and drama teacher (1919-2004)