When I started drama school, theatre was the main draw. I never had any movie star notions. Not that there were family ties to the theatre, either.

I sometimes think it's like a weird elastic band. The more tragic your work is, the quicker you snap back. There's a catharsis in telling a miserable old tale; you get rid of demons.

There are some roles you just don't say 'no' to. Those compass points: you get them so rarely as an actress.

I don't look like Catherine Zeta-Jones, so I don't think Hollywood would be that interested in me, to be honest. I just want nice work.

As I get older, I want to draw on my experience to make roles better. I see that in the older women who inspire me - their experience makes them better.

Nothing is more diminishing than trying to control success or hold on to things.

People at a point of conflict are always the most interesting stories to tell.

You can't worry too much about profile; otherwise, you become a different kind of actor, and that's not the kind of actor I want to be.

There are people out there with three jobs and small children. Being an actor is a walk in the park compared to working as a cleaner overnight. I'm lucky I'm not plucking chickens.

You just grow up and learn to think instead of just feel.

In theatre, there's the director, the writer, and below them the actor. In film, it's the actors who are most important. That goes against the grain for me.

I wish everyone would stop crying, Tom. Uncle Joe would be so angry about it." But she's crying herself now. "He'd be so angry at us, Tom, for crying so much when all he did was laugh.

No civilization can thrive or survive if it refuses to adapt or change.

I was not frightened as they were, for the very violence of his threats showed how weak he was.

I know that you should always say yes to adventures or you'll lead a very dull life.

A boy and a girl started dating after he backed his car into hers. They met by accident.

Jesus comes for sinners, for those outcast...and those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams.

Only someone who is well prepared has the opportunity to improvise.

The name Roosevelt has this legendary force in our country at this time.

May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books.

O magnet-South! O glistening perfumed South! My South! O quick mettle, rich blood, impulse and love! Good and evil! O all dear to me!