Carla Gugino

Birthday: 29 August 1971, Sarasota, Florida, USA

Birth Name: Carla N. Gugino

Height: 165 cm

Carla Gugino was born in Sarasota, Florida, to Carl Gugino, an orthodontist. She is of Italian (father) and English-Irish (mother) ancestry. Gugino moved with her mother to Paradise, California, when Carla was just five years old. During her childhood, they moved many times within the state. But she remained a straight-A student throughout high school and graduated as valedictorian. A major modeling agency discovered Carla in San Diego and sent her to New York to begin a new career when she was 15. New York was more than she could handle at that young age, so she returned to LA in the summer, modeling and enrolling in an acting class at the suggestion of her aunt, Carol Merrill, known from Let's Make a Deal (1963). During her free time, Carla enjoys yoga, traveling and spending time with her friends in Los Angeles. Show less «

What I've realized is that we're our own harshest critics. We give ourselves limitations. But I want...Show more »

What I've realized is that we're our own harshest critics. We give ourselves limitations. But I want to push through that wall, on a creative and personal level. Show less «

I find often in Hollywood there are many people who play themselves really beautifully. And certain ...Show more »

I find often in Hollywood there are many people who play themselves really beautifully. And certain parts are not that dissimilar from who you are as a person. Show less «

I'm fiercely protective of my privacy.

Sucker Punch (2011) is a big girl-power movie.

It is odd there are many movies with many men. But generally movies have one woman, or maybe the old...Show more »

It is odd there are many movies with many men. But generally movies have one woman, or maybe the older woman and the younger girl. Show less «

I'm a sensualist. My two main indulgences are dark chocolate and massages.

I think when I first started acting there were different people who I thought, 'I want that person's...Show more »

I think when I first started acting there were different people who I thought, 'I want that person's career or that person's career.' And as time has gone on, it's become really clear to me what is important to me; getting the best roles, the roles that I feel are challenging and scary and that I haven't done yet. Show less «

As an actor, you're naked emotionally; you're revealing yourself emotionally.

For me, I never, never, from the moment I started acting, had a desire to be famous.

I kind of knew it wasn't going to be until my 30s that I really hit my stride as an actor.

I guess I've always been really attracted to period pieces and always felt visually I was probably m...Show more »

I guess I've always been really attracted to period pieces and always felt visually I was probably more made for the '50s or the early '60s than I am for a modern day. Show less «

I think I'm always trying to subvert conventions, and sometimes it's more successful than others.

I'll always take an artistic endeavor over a career move.

I like being the lead but I like being in an ensemble. There are different challenges and dilemmas w...Show more »

I like being the lead but I like being in an ensemble. There are different challenges and dilemmas with both. If you're carrying a film, there's a certain weight, but there are a lot of scenes to explore the character. When you're in an ensemble, you have to convey the entire character in a limited number of scenes. Show less «

I'm a huge Wong Kar-Wai fan.

You know, I used to be made fun of as a kid for being really articulate; it was sort of like a stran...Show more »

You know, I used to be made fun of as a kid for being really articulate; it was sort of like a strange thing. Show less «

I think you always have to go as an artist with instinct, I really do.

Sexuality is one of the biggest parts of who we are.

I feel like I'm the only person - or woman, at least - who hasn't read 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'

Personally, just as an actor, I love accents; they're fun.

Unfortunately, 'chick flick' has become a term to describe most movies that I don't even like. They'...Show more »

Unfortunately, 'chick flick' has become a term to describe most movies that I don't even like. They're these movies that, yes, have women in them but they really don't reflect who women are, and there's something kind of silly or shallow or gossipy about them. Show less «

My father and my mother separated when I was two..

My favorite thing is to have a big dinner with friends and talk about life.

Well, first of all, I'm an incredibly gullible person - I'm so bad that when I said that to someone,...Show more »

Well, first of all, I'm an incredibly gullible person - I'm so bad that when I said that to someone, my friend said, 'You know, 'gullible' isn't even in the dictionary.' And I said, 'Really?' As I was saying 'Really?' I will acknowledge that I then realized what was happening, but that's how bad I am. Show less «

I generally make a sort of playlist for my iPod for whatever project I'm doing.

We are all multidimensional and kind of have dual personalities. Everyone puts on different roles de...Show more »

We are all multidimensional and kind of have dual personalities. Everyone puts on different roles depending on what circumstances they're in without even noticing that they do that. Show less «

I think that there's a tendency for actors who play strong women to have them take on all the worst ...Show more »

I think that there's a tendency for actors who play strong women to have them take on all the worst characteristics of men, to become cold and detached and hardened. Show less «

I always had challenges when I was younger, because I looked so young but sounded older.

When my friends have a health concern, they call me. I've always been a vitamin taker. I also take d...Show more »

When my friends have a health concern, they call me. I've always been a vitamin taker. I also take digestive enzymes and antioxidants, and supplements that help with the thyroid and adrenals for my time-zone changes. Show less «

I always feel like I want to work with people who raise my game, and I can do the same for them, and...Show more »

I always feel like I want to work with people who raise my game, and I can do the same for them, and we can jump off the cliff together. Show less «

One of the things I really love about TV is this symbiotic relationship you can get between the writ...Show more »

One of the things I really love about TV is this symbiotic relationship you can get between the writers and the actors, and the characters start to come to life because you start to collaborate. Show less «

I've joked that I would have either become schizophrenic or an actress, but as an actress you can do...Show more »

I've joked that I would have either become schizophrenic or an actress, but as an actress you can do both. Show less «

I'm intrigued by films that have a singular vision behind them. A lot of studio movies have ten writ...Show more »

I'm intrigued by films that have a singular vision behind them. A lot of studio movies have ten writers by the time they're done. You have a movie testing 200 times, making adjustments according to various people's opinions. It's difficult to have an undistilled vision. Show less «

My tendency as an actor is, when there's a certain energy, I feel a challenge to match it, to come u...Show more »

My tendency as an actor is, when there's a certain energy, I feel a challenge to match it, to come up to that plate and play on the same level. Show less «

I love doing serious movies for adults.

When a sports movie really works, it gets you on all levels, because the stakes are high. It's black...Show more »

When a sports movie really works, it gets you on all levels, because the stakes are high. It's black and white. It's win or lose. Show less «

It's not often that the idea of continuing something for a potentially long period of time sounds ex...Show more »

It's not often that the idea of continuing something for a potentially long period of time sounds exciting to me, because I really am a gypsy by nature. Show less «

One of the most important things for an actor is to observe humanity.

Yeah, I guess I'm not a particularly religious person, but I do really believe strongly that we all ...Show more »

Yeah, I guess I'm not a particularly religious person, but I do really believe strongly that we all need to believe in something, and that's very personal to each one of us. Show less «