"People who have seen me read usually come up afterwards and invite me to be a part of something." -- Amber Tamblyn
Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress. She appeared on the soap opera General Hospital followed by a starring role on the television series Joan of Arcadia. She has branched out into film roles, appearing in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Grudge 2. Her most recent work includes a co-starring role in the film Beyond a Reasonable Doubt with Michael Douglas and in the television show The Unusuals.
"A business like acting is 90% luck. You can be a star one minute and out of work the next.""A lot of people think I'm cynical when I talk about acting. The truth of the matter is, I just don't want someone to get some lame advice that will send them in the wrong direction.""A lot of young poets today, from what I've heard and experienced, can't get their heads past George W. Bush, and I've heard so many poems about this democracy and this era of politics that I'm kind of bored by it.""And one of my other friends could not believe in God if he came down and tapped her on the shoulder. She's a biologist - a student at UCLA - and I don't judge her either, because I really believe that God is a personal opinion, and only that.""But I didn't even see God in the show as being very spiritual, I see him or her, it, as being something that is just relevant and very important in her life.""Honestly, I am not trying to discourage anyone from becoming an actress, but if you want to become one be prepared to face everything that comes - along with it.""I could never say that one religion is wrong. I could never say that this person's God is wrong, I could never say that someone is wrong because they don't believe in God.""I don't think it's always good to read lots of poetry.""I have tons of jewelry. I like to wear a lot of it.""I haven't had a lot of celebrities around me growing up.""I liked the humor of it, I've always enjoyed a sense of humor in God and in religion and in spirituality.""I remember when I first started in the business, I lost a lot of friends. Some were jealous, some were annoyed at the fact that I was an actress.""I think any time you have too much education in one certain field, that can sometimes play against you.""I think at the end of the day this movie is respecting what we as women go through as we grow up. The experiences, what we deal with, other women, things about images, things that we deal with as women.""I think I had an advantage in the sense that I wasn't raised religiously.""I think I relate to all the characters in one way or another. I'm a chameleon like that.""I think that people are definitely interested in the idea that Joan has conversations with God.""I tried not to make God this big deal in Joan's life. She treats God like a friend: she's nice to him some days, and other days mean, and then cries when she needs help.""I've been kind of submerged in my own little geographic location for a really long time in Venice Beach.""If it comes back, I think that Friday night is not a good night to be on.""If you believe that God put you here to act, then you have to be different. Go into casting offices, with something other girls don't have.""My advice is to make acting your second career choice.""My father comes from a generation of film that actors my age don't even know about, which is really sad.""My own personal connection with God was not in a religious sense, so I wasn't really thinking in that way when I got the role and when I started doing it.""My parents cultured me a lot and they introduced me to a lot of artists, a lot of their friends.""One of my good friends is Christian, goes to church every Sunday, very religious. I'm fine with that and I will never judge her.""Other people like Neil Young and Dennis Hopper, those are just really close knit family friends.""Our show is less about a girl who is doing miracles and more about the domino effect of this girl's life, and how everyone else is affected. Our show seems to be a questioning show as opposed to an action sort of fairy tale.""People in real life cuss God out when they're angry. That's all real.""This will be the fourth time I've seen this film. I'm very proud of it and I think it's a great movie for women of any age. And almost every single man I've talked to has admitted to crying."
Tamblyn was born in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Russ Tamblyn, an actor, dancer, and singer, and Bonnie Murray, a singer, teacher, and artist. Amber Tamblyn Biography (1983-) Her paternal grandfather, Eddie Tamblyn, was a vaudeville performer. She attended the Santa Monica Alternative School House, which, in her words, was ”very unorthodox, no letter grades." At the age of ten, she played Pippi Longstocking in a school play; her father's agent, Sharon Debord, was attending as a family friend and ended up convincing her father to allow Tamblyn to go on auditions.
Tamblyn's first TV role was Emily Bowen (later known as Emily Quartermaine) on the soap opera General Hospital, a role that she played for six years (from 1995 to 2001). She also starred in the pilot episode of the revived Twilight Zone series on UPN in 2002.
Tamblyn became better known playing Joan Girardi, a teenage girl who receives frequent visits from God, on the CBS drama series Joan of Arcadia. Tamblyn's father made several appearances as God in the form of a dog walker on the show, which ran from 2003 to 2005.
Tamblyn was supposed to return to CBS in the 2007 pilot Babylon Fields, an apocalyptic comedic drama about the undead trying to resume their former lives. However, the network excluded the show from its Fall 2007 programming lineup, since it would compete with the network's other undead-themed drama, Moonlight.
Tamblyn starred in The Unusuals, playing NYPD homicide detective Casey Shraeger in this notably acclaimed crime drama. The show was canceled however after just one season.
Notable guest roles include Buffy the Vampire Slayer (playing Janice Penshaw, the best friend of Dawn Summers), as well as Boston Public, Miami, and Punk'd (where Ashton Kutcher and his crew members tricked her into losing someone else's dog).
Tamblyn will guest-star on multiple episodes of the upcoming season of medical drama House.
Awards and nominations
The role of Joan Girardi earned her both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations in 2004. Tamblyn was also nominated for a Saturn award for Best Actress In a Television Series in both 2004 and 2005, winning in 2004 Other nominations include The Teen Choice Awards, The Golden Satellite Awards and The Young Artist Award.
Tamblyn launched her film career playing bit parts in her father's movies: Rebellious and Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard. She also appeared in 1995's Live Nude Girls.
Her first major film role was in 2005's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, co-starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Blake Lively. She also starred in its 2008 sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Her horror film career began with the opening scene of 2002's The Ring. Tamblyn's also appeared in the Japan-set The Grudge 2, a sequel to The Grudge. The film, which also stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, was released on October 13, 2006, and debuted in the #1 spot at the North American box office.In August 2006, Tamblyn won the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for her performance in the title role of Stephanie Daley. The film, which also won an award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, features Tamblyn as a 16-year-old who kills her baby moments after giving birth in the bathroom of a ski resort. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also stars Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton.She also starred in Blackout in 2007.
In January 2008, Tamblyn appeared in the Hallmark movie, The Russell Girl about a woman suffering from disease and mental anguish.
Tamblyn appeared in the 2009 film Spring Breakdown, also featuring Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch.
Tamblyn will appear alongside Orlando Bloom, Colin Firth, and Patricia Clarkson in the 2010 film Main Street, a drama set in North Carolina. She is also set to appear in 127 Hours with James Franco.
Tamblyn has self-published two chapbooks of poetry, Of the Dawn and Plenty of Ships, and has participated in poetry readings at various venues, particularly in California. The Loneliest, a poem book inspired by Thelonious Monk and his music, was published in 2005 and contains haiku poetry written by Tamblyn and coupled with collages by George Herms. Only 300 copies of the book were published.
In 2005, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing published a book of poems that she wrote over the span of seven years entitled Free Stallion. The School Library Journal's review states that, "Free Stallion is a compilation of poetry that amounts to a portrait of the artist as a teenager.... Many of the selections are appropriately self-absorbed but move beyond journalistic catharsis to real insight and stunning language for one so young."
In October 2006, Tamblyn did several poetry readings in California, including a few with poet Derrick Brown. In 2008, she was featured in the Write Bloody Publishing anthology, The Last American Valentine: Illustrated poems to seduce and destroy.
Tamblyn appears in a poetry concert film recorded on August 4, 2007 in Los Angeles, "The Drums Inside Your Chest." Premiere date: April 26, 2009 at the Newport Beach Film Festival. YouTube - The Drums Inside Your Chest Movie Trailer w/Amber Tamblyn
A new collection of poetry, Bang Ditto, is forthcoming in September 2009 from Manic D Press.
Beginning in October, 2009, Tamblyn began blogging for the Poetry Foundation's blog, Harriet.
She is the daughter of actor Russ Tamblyn, best known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and West Side Story. She is the goddaughter of actors Dean Stockwell and Dennis Hopper and musician Neil Young. Her uncle is Larry Tamblyn, who was the keyboardist in the '60s rock band The Standells. Tamblyn is dating comedian and actor David Cross.
