38 quotes found
"But there is a scary side to acting for me, because I have always wanted to develop rather than plateau out. When people come to me and tell me I was terrific in this or that, I do not want to fall flat on my face the next time. But, tough, I have fallen flat before. You just get up and dust yourself off."
"All I ever wanted to do was act. And pay my bills"
"I grew up as a tomboy. I was always barefoot, running races with the guys on the block, climbing trees, and beating kids up."
"I hate being the subject of photographs."
"That's not girth. That's a para-umbilical hernia."
"I've always hated the way I looked, and I've never complained about my brains."
"I was a French Quarter rat from the moment I could get on a bus by myself and go to the French Quarter. I played music most of my early life and it just seemed that to entertain people was a really good thing to do."
"I am full of doubts ... Each new film is like a trial. Before I step in front of the camera, I do not know whether I am going to fall or whether I am going to fly — and that is exactly the way I want it to stay."
"I think the characters I play go through tunnels, like in Three Colours : Blue, for example, where she’s lost everything ... In The English Patient, she loses her best friend; this patient is dying in front of her – there’s no hope, so she’s going to start from the bottom. In films we see extremes, because it’s where you have turning points. Before I thought there was a common denominator between my films — as if all my characters were sisters – but I’m not so sure now."
"I try to see my films just once. It's like a dream you've been through when it's been intense, and you just have to go through it once more just to make sure you've had it."
"I'm going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90, so there's that. I'll have the best boobs in the nursing home. I'll be the envy of all the ladies around the bridge table."
"Dr. Lilian Thurman: Do you still think about girls a lot? Donnie: [Under hypnosis] Yeah. Dr. Lilian Thurman: How are things going at school? Donnie: I think about girls a lot. Dr. Lilian Thurman: I asked you about school, Donnie. Donnie: I think about fucking a lot, in school. Dr. Lilian Thurman: What else do you think about, when you're at school? Donnie: Married With Children. Dr. Lilian Thurman: Do you think about your family? Donnie: I just turn down the volume and think about fucking Christina Applegate. Dr. Lilian Thurman: I asked you about your family. Donnie: [Chuckling] No, I don't think about fucking my family, that's gross."
"Sam's like a fight trainer. He shapes you up, he psyches you, he draws everything out of you. He's subtle, though, yet baroque, and I want to get into that baroqueness. Like the other day, during a scene in which I was supposed to be answering the door and registering surprise. Well, it was the end of the day and I wasn't acting very surprised, so he smashes a beer bottle behind me, right out of camera range. I mean, Christ, I nearly jumped out of my skin. But he got what he wanted."
"The plight of the actor, even if he's a star, is the plight of the women's movement. They're saying the same thing to us: get into bed, give me a good time, then give me something to eat, go get the laundry, be a good girl."
"As a child in North London it never crossed my mind that I would ever play the Wicked Witch of the East."
"I was kind of a tomboy climbing trees so it never crossed my mind, no."
"I think the only way you can successfully be a mum and an actress is by not carrying around the burden of the character. Between the time the director says "Action" and "Cut," it's all true for me. But when I stop saying the lines, it's not true anymore."
"There's a moment in one scene of the new film where tears almost appear in his eye. These are crocodile tears, but for all those in the movie, and perhaps watching the movie itself, they'll see he is apparently moved -- and of course, he is. He can just do it. He can, as it were, turn it on. And I suppose for him, it's also a bit of a turn-on -- the pure exercise of power is what he's all about. That's the only thing he's interested in and the only thing that can satisfy him -- which makes him completely fascinating to play, because it is an evil soul."
"To have been chosen when you're in your thirties to play someone who's 120, and then to find when you were in your early fifties you were going to play the same character at your then-age, that is, in your early fifties, in fact I don't think I've come out of the trauma. But the interesting think about that it's an absolutely unique challenge for an actor; I can't think of anyone who's been asked to do that, or indeed been given the opportunity, and I'll always be grateful for that."
"My overall philosophy was to continue to do good work, to expand my range, and to show that range. I think Hollywood can certainly try to put you into boxes. My entire career has been somewhat of a reflection of my college theater experience, and that was, I did everything. Not only did I do Shakespeare and Molière, but I did Mamet and John Patrick Shanley; contemporary playwrights. I was writing in college, I was directing in college, and when I got to Hollywood, I tried to continue that. I think my first three roles in Hollywood are somewhat indicative of that. You’ve got 'La Bamba,' then 'Stand and Deliver,' then 'Young Guns.' All three films are very different, and all three characters are extremely different."
"Once you wrap your brain around playing your age, it's a very, very positive thing…"
"When I did La Bamba and Stand and Deliver, I marched with Cesar Chavez and fasted with him. Whatever I have directed, I've flipped roles to be more inclusive of ethnic, female and LBGQ performers. This is a flag I've waved from the beginning. I got into the door and kept my foot in it so others could come in behind me."
"I have never felt that Hollywood is mine, and I've never felt like the King of Hollywood. I've always felt lucky to be included... to be invited to the party. I guess because I've never expected my career to be as successful as it has been – I'd still be acting for free in Dallas, Texas if La Bamba had never come along. This has always been my love and my passion – my work – and so to be doing it at the level I'm doing, I'm quite happy…"
"I of course love doing is film and theater, so I really like that, it’s a shorter term commitment, it’s an opportunity to explore different actors and different characters and also to work with better and better artists. More and more artists at the top of the, at the cream of the crop and learn from them. So, that’s a joy. That you can be in that company and then now, it’s helping younger or not necessarily younger, but newer artists in film and independent film, and certainly being the established actor, with people making their Broadway debut, it is great"
"In America I met some fantastic people making films. But going there felt like a bit of a defeat. I mean, why should I leave my country to work? But there was far more TV and film in America then. At the time I didn't link the psoriasis with the stage fright, but it may have made me more sensitive and introverted, which might have led to it."
"I was running to lots of other things, whether it was sex or drugs or booze or things to distract me from, to numb myself from the pain that I was running away from most of my life. The irony is that booze can give you this temporary relief, but then the next day amplifies that anxiety tenfold. So, then you’re running back to get more and it just becomes this vicious cycle."
"My career was in a place where I felt like even though I had accomplished so many things up to that point, I was still, and to be honest, even now, I still feel this way. I feel like I’m a bit on the outside looking in. I’ve never really felt like I am a part of whatever the cool kid group is."
"Prayer and meditation are very important, which are also somewhat synonymous, I think, in some ways. Sometimes my prayer is meditation. Sometimes I’m just there and allowing God to take over what that time is. I’m not really saying anything as much as I’m just spending time. I think one of the most important things, at least for me, is taking my thoughts captive. Our minds are so powerful, but they are so easily, so easily hijacked if we don’t really go, ‘Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I’m doing it again. I’m starting to speak ill of myself again. I’m starting to be harsh or critical of myself. I’m starting to judge where I’m at in my life."
"I’ve gone through points in this where I felt really confident, and I’ve gone through some really heavy moments where I thought, ‘I’m crap in this show.’ Then for this to happen, it really smacks you in the face and says, ‘Listen to your people that love you and that are telling you you’re doing good work."
"Honestly, the biggest challenge is just my own brain."
"I know as an actor I don't want to sacrifice my morality or my integrity; I wouldn't be able to sleep at night."
"If you are taking shortcuts, cutting corners or essentially compromising your integrity... then you might get there, but how stable will it be? How long will it last? How fulfilling will it be? Look—I dunno—maybe there are people who've cut all kinds of corners and they get to the top and they're so stoked. But I can't relate to that type of person; I don't understand."
"We all stumble, we all fall, we're all broken. But to highlight someone who, even through all that imperfection, is still trying to do what is right, to hold on to what is most valuable."
"Not to say you can't make movies for the flock, that's great, too...I personally want to make movies that get to everyone. I want inspirational stories that inspire hope and faith to get to people that don't have a lot of hope and faith. I think this movie does that; there's a natural inspirational aspect to it you can't get around."
"But I want to encourage people and not take things too seriously. I want myself and everyone else to feel at ease and feel like they’re in their safe place."
"Growing up, my love for theater was insatiable. I just love to make people laugh and clap and smile. When I discovered drama and the ability to move people to tears, it was so powerful. As much as you can feel like God created you to do something, I believe He made me to entertain."
"You work with so many people of different backgrounds, especially in community theater. From aspiring actors to an optometrist who likes to moonlight (as a performer). It's such a weird and fun and funny environment, but I was so grateful. You are an amalgamation of all the people you've worked with or that encouraged you, or that you learned from."
"The coolest thing about awards season is celebrating together. What a great year it's been for Broadway. That I get to be included is amazing."