Jennifer Connelly

"You have to do it. You can't keep thinking about it, you just sort of surrender to it, especially when you get the opportunity to work with great actors."

"I still don't know if I have the hang of it. It's kind of a work in progress but I've felt more invested than ever and committed and passionate since the birth of my son."

"I didn't have a very rebellious personality, I was someone who wanted to make people happy. I was almost an overachiever kind of kid."

"I'm incredibly loyal, I like that. I'm not into trends and fads. I'm in it for the long haul. The same goes for relationships, business and personal. I believe in functioning that way."

"I don't really have a vested interest in what they do career-wise, so long as it's neither destructive to their bodies nor illegal. And hopefully not destructive to other people's bodies either."

"I'd like both of my kids to remain kids as long as possible until they actually have to become grown-ups, so I prefer none of them become professionals before adulthood."

"I have a thing about honesty; I think it's crucial to a relationship. Otherwise, one person holds all the power. It's healthy to be straightforward, and it turns out you can wind up weathering a lot. Knowing that everything is on the table what you see is what you get lends a sense of safety."

"It was something about the way that we were together. He stood out to me as someone singular and rare and beautiful, and I liked the way he was in the world. I liked the way he was with people. I liked the way he was with my son and the way he made me feel."

"Lots of other people have won Oscars, too, and there are a lot of talented women my age working who could play the roles I go after just as well."

"I got to spend the whole year with my kids and my husband. And that's wonderful. My job really suits me."

"I did think that it was the sort of film that we could do together, and we had wanted to work together on something for some time."

"I went through a really hard time at the end of last year. The biggest thing for me is that my kids grow up safely and have happy lives. For me, that’s enough."

"The thing that really matters to me is well-being and happiness."

"I'm more reserved. I can be kind of shy in a group. Once I'm comfortable with someone, I'm not reserved."

"It wasn’t until my late twenties that I realised acting could be a creative experience."

"It’s weird how much his death has affected me, especially how I feel now. I am much more conscious of how precious time is and I strive to find joy in everything. I catch myself quicker now when I start wasting my time worrying about silly things."

"He was funny and gracious and made me feel so comfortable. He was amazing. Subsequently, I became a huge fan of his music."

"After working with him, he became a real hero of mine because he was so kind to me – I was a 14-year-old kid and knew nothing."

"And here we all are separated from people that we love and not able to go live the lives we’ve always loved. It is strange. I didn’t quite anticipate. I don’t think anyone anticipated being in this position now."

"I can’t say exactly how it impacts me and changes me, but I feel like the process of doing that and really considering other perspectives, I feel like it offers some kind of teaching."

"I mean, my dad was there with me and my dad was just so proud and excited to be there and I was so happy to have him there with me and I don’t know, I connect that a lot with my dad in that experience of being there, being there with him and what it meant to him."

"My character has a lot of rapid-fire technical jargon, so wrapping your head around it and trying to say it with authority is a challenge. For me, the scenes that are more emotionally fraught, I always find the most fun to play."

"Jennifer has really emerged in the last few years. She's very intelligent, a great beauty and has a lot of integrity. And she's developing this extraordinary screen presence."

"Jennifer goes in very deep, not just about her character but everyone else's, line by line, page by page. She is driven by the desire to understand why we act the way we do, why we behave a certain way."