I don’t think Hollywood was trying to do anything with me. In fact, they lost interest pretty quick. I think I got lucky, briefly, in the ’90s, and it just so happened that those movies were the opportunities that came my way. Then it just kind of stopped.

Garofalo frames her 1990s film visibility not as the result of a sustained studio “plan” or star-making machinery, but as a short-lived alignment of timing and available roles. The quote pushes back against the myth of Hollywood as a meritocratic pipeline that steadily rewards talent; instead, it suggests an industry that can briefly embrace a performer’s type or sensibility and then move on. Implicitly, she highlights the contingency of acting careers—how market trends, casting fashions, and institutional interest can determine longevity as much as ability. The tone is unsentimental and pragmatic, emphasizing luck and structural forces over personal narrative.