Claire Danes, star of Showtime's hit show "Homeland," recently revealed to Vogue in her August 2013 cover issue that she was "stuck" for two years and unemployed before landing her breakthrough role as Carrie Mathison.
"I was stuck," Danes said in her Vogue interview. "It was confusing. I got a lot of plaudits, and it didn't translate into more work. I was really, really struggling during that time."
Danes explained she sought out help and advice from legendary actresses Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Susan Sarandon.
"You have to pick your battles on set. You have to come to work from a place of love. You have to stay hydrated when you have crying scenes," Danes recalled of their tips and tricks to succeeding in the world of screen acting. "You have to go to college. And you have to ask for money because there's always more money and they won't give it to you because you're a girl!"
When Danes read the script for "Homeland," she was instantly hooked.
"When I read the script, the writing was so good, and the cliffhanger was amazing," Danes told the magazine. At the time, she was considering the role of playing Leonardo Dicaprio's secretary in the 2011 biopic "J. Edgar."
"I was like, 'Do I want to play the secretary to the boss man or do I want to be the boss man?,'" she remembered. "I want to be the boss man...I was scared of it [the 'Homeland' role], and I thought, OK, right, that means I have to do it."
Her recent Vogue shoot was inspired by her "Homeland" character, which celebrity hair expert who styled the star, Oribe Canales, explained to Yahoo! is a "clean, easy, all-American hair with a bit of sex appeal," something "very Claire Danes."
"To create a subtle lift, spritz Dry Texturising Spray at the roots. For more movement, simply use a large-barrel iron to give a bit of bend to your strands and finish by spraying Soft Dry Conditioner throughout," he said on how to achieve the look. "This keeps the volume and texture, but adds a softness and youngness to her locks."
The August issue of Vogue hits newstands July 23.
