All Quotes

"A computation is a physical process in which physical objects like computers, or slide rules or brains are used to discover, or to demonstrate or to harness properties of abstract objects—like numbers and equations. How can they do that? The answer is that we use them only in situations where to the best of our understanding the laws of physics will cause physical variables like electric currents in computers (representing bits) faithfully to mimic the abstract entities that we’re interested in."

"Surely it is more interesting to argue about what the truth is, than about what some particular thinker, however great, did or did not think."

"That was the first time she was given the opportunity to use what I think is still an underrated talent."

"It is important to realize that cults are a dime a dozen and that a great many businesses are cults."

"Men deal with life as children with their play, Who first misuse, then cast their toys away."

"Sexiness is a state of mind -- a comfortable state of being. It's about loving yourself in your most unlovable moments."

"When I held that statuette, I felt as if I had won a triumph not just for myself, but for every other woman who'd struggled to overcome the same sort of background."

"Actors always have to fight for the good parts. There are so few good roles written for women each year, and when one is written like this every actress in town covets the role."

"It's an amazing feeling to know that life is actually growing inside your body. The first time you see the ultrasound and you see the little bones and you realise that it's part of you and it's in your care is life changing and this sort of protective instinct has taken over."

"I want to do roles that are fun and challenging and I want to try different things. I don't want to keep doing Monster's Ball over and over and over again. I want to keep doing my career the way that I was doing it before I won the Oscar."

"When you grow up in that (multi-ethnic) environment, you see the world differently. Being a mixed-race child, I didn't always see colour in people, I really didn't. It was other people that made me see the colour all the time."

"When a young woman tells me that she wants to become and actor, I say, 'No, be a writer. Or go to business school and learn how to run a studio.' The only real change will come from behind the scenes."

"The fact is that I like thrillers and action movies. But what really fulfills me is getting out of my comfort zone, taking chances."

"I get offered varied parts, often super sexy roles. But I still think it's an issue to find the good scripts. It's a myth that you win an Oscar and you get more opportunities, and this doesn't just go for me."

"You know, she often tells me that what I do is great. I don't think she ever thought I would end up doing this with my life. But I think she is happier that I haven't changed over the years, that I am still me, that I care about her and that we are the same as we always were. And I think that is what makes her most proud."

"Being a black woman, I've often felt I've been judged by my sex and my race, and I have always known that it shouldn't hamper me."

"I don't buy into that pressure to be glamorous all the time. It's impossible, I mean, you get a pimple in the morning, you wake up with bags under your eyes, you see if you can use it in your work, maybe incorporate it into your character."

"I used to believe that if my career was going great, then I was not entitled to a great personal life. Well, I've stopped thinking that way. I believe I can have it all."

"I've also grown as an actor as I've got older in life. I've learnt how to go to work, immerse myself 100 per cent in the character and, at the end of the day, take it all off and go back, get a nice bubble bath, have a nice massage and realise that is not my life. And that feels good."

"I've never been afraid to be who I really am on screen."

"I never even think about the physicality of roles, until honestly I get the gig and I think, 'OK, now what do I have to do in this one?' Like, I approach it thinking more about the character -- do I respond to it? Is it something I think I can play? Does it seem like it'll be fun?"

"I'm not obsessive, like I have to have the best butt or the best abs, but I like the idea of feeling strong and healthy. It's important to feel good about myself physically."

"I've always liked to go down a different path. Being a woman of color, I never followed a cookie cutter way."

"For me, the walk of the character is always the first part that I must define for myself."

"My mother always said to me, 'You're going to have to work harder and have to be better, and you can't take no for an answer'."

"I love Halle. She's so sweet. I connected with her immediately and, even though we only worked together for a few days, it was the best connection I've ever had with an actress. She made me feel like I could trust her."

"As beautiful as Halle is on the outside, she's 10 times more beautiful on the inside."

"Prince William definitely isn't my type, he's too horsey-looking."

"I don't like my legs. … A good pair of legs on someone else always makes me jealous. I don't have any tits so I can't show cleavage. The only part I really like is my stomach."

"There is definitely a fuck-you quality to the characters I choose."

"A lot of times in cinema today the women are overly sentimental, so I constantly try to do the opposite. I like strident women."

"I went from everyone saying, "She-can't-act-she-can't-act-she-can't-act," to an Oscar nomination. So there was something quite sublime about that!"

"I haven't got a clue about how much I weigh. I do not own any scales. And I have noticed it creates an anger in people who are not skinny. People like to blame their insecurities on other people."

"Jesus, if I know one thing about the industry, it's that it's a moment. A flash in the pan. That's what's lovely about it. But it's hard, because one moment you're the hot thing, and the next moment — you're not. And there's no rhyme or reason for it."

"I think it's great that the discussions are finally being allowed to be had [about feminism], as opposed to anybody mentioning feminism and everybody going, 'Oh, fucking shut up.' Somehow, [feminism] became a dirty word. I thought it was really weird for a long time, and I think it's great that we're coming out of that"

"My butt-crack showing is like my trademark. I wear my pants loose, and lately Ive been so busy I've lost a few pounds. My ass-crack is always showing!"

"She wants to go home, but nobody's home. It's where she lies, broken inside."

"Some chick came up to me and said something, so I kicked her in the box and shoved her."

"I’m on a vegan diet, I do yoga every day, I work out, I’m totally spiritual — I’m completely opposite of what everyone thinks I am right now."

"I know my fans look up to me and that's why I make my songs so personal; it's all about things I've experienced and things I like or hate. I write for myself and hope that my fans like what I have to say."

"I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen."

"[Of a medical examination and being diagnosed by a physician] He stuck a camera down my throat....ew... I GAGGED! It was kinda funny though.....he said I have "Acute Laryngitis"."

"[On Lyme disease] I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed, My friends asked, "What’s wrong?" I didn’t know. I had no idea a bug bite could do this, I was bedridden for five months. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move, I thought I was dying. There were definitely times I couldn’t shower for a full week because I could barely stand. It felt like having all your life sucked out of you. They were asking about me since I was MIA, so I mentioned to one fan directly that I wasn’t feeling good, The get-well messages and videos they sent touched me so deeply. This was a wake-up call, I really just want to enjoy life from here on out."

"I’ve gone through so much, (referring to Lyme disease and divorce from Chad Kroeger) it put things in perspective and showed me how much the small things in life—friends, love, family, just your health—matter the most. (Referring to the debuting of album Head Above Water) It gave me a purpose, and made me find myself all over again. I'd give anything just to relax with a glass of wine 'cause it just means so much to me. There's still a part of me that loves punk rock."

"I was hanging out with a guy and he said; "You're a dumb blonde" and I was like; "Ah, Thanks!" I think it's a good slap in the face to someone who can't handle a strong independent woman."

"I get all these loser preps coming up to me asking for autographs and all this crap, and I really want to tell them, 'My music is not for people like you!"

"Chill out, what're you yelling for? Lay back. It's all been done before, and if? You could only let it be? You will see, I like you the way you are. When we're driving in your car and you're talking to me one and one. But you've become somebody else, like everyone else! You're watching your back, like you can't relax. You're trying to be cool; you look like a fool to me."

"Tell me, why do you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else; get's me frustrated. Life's like this: You fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get and you turn it into. Honestly, you promised me I'm never going to find you faking. No, no! No!"

"He was a boy, she was girl. Can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk; she did ballet. What more can I say? He wanted her, she'd never tell secretly she wanted him as well. All of her friends stuck up their nose, they had a problem with his baggy clothes. He was a skater boy. She said: 'see you later, boy'. He wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space. She needed to come back down to Earth!"

"Could he with reason murmur at his case, Himself sole author of his own disgrace?"