I was frustrated. I was doing some bad movies, movies that I knew going in were not going to be great.

The lowest budget U.S. films are ten times times better (than shooting in Tibet).

All teenagers have this desire to somehow run away.

Acting is actually private.

I would never offer advice without the person asking for it. I, in general, don't believe in giving advice, actually, as a human being I don't.

The difference between me and American-born actors is that I came here with the expectation of not being treated fairly.

My fairy-tale life ended the moment I wanted to apply for a passport.

All Asian parents are into your children having a respectable, decent stable job. Acting was unimaginable to my parents.

As an actress I find the most enjoyable part of acting is really just to please the director. I just want to please my director.

I grew up in Honolulu. It's not the ballet cultural mecca by any stretch of the imagination. People are much more familiar with hula than they are with ballet.

Since age 14, I know what actors fear, what they like; I know how to get things out of them and I listen to them better, since I've been there.

To be the other womanis to be a seasonthat is always about to end, when the air is floweredwith jasmine and peach, and the weather day after dayis flawless, and the forecastis hurricane.

Don't go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. They are ecstasy machines.

You are more that the identity your mind creates.

Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing.

It's hard to come to terms with the fact that you aren't going to be loved the way you want to be loved.

The only difference between a problem and a solution is that people understand the solution.

I think the people who work with me are people who love style themselves. I'm leaving the office and they're still working. They're passionate.

Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it. Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people.

With age comes wisdom and confidence, and I don't feel like I'm seeking approval as much as I used to from other people.