Mara Wilson Quotes

If I were really really ridiculously wealthy, I wouldn’t buy a mansion, just tiny apartments in every city I love.

Puberty was definitely difficult for me.

I remember my friends and I looking forward to puberty because it seemed exciting at first.

I can't take much pride in my childhood acting. It feels like it happened in another lifetime, and even then, it felt like a hobby.

Considering all the legal hassle child stars can be, I won't be surprised when they are phased out by CGI children voiced by adult actors.

Very sad, very upset, very glad I did not have to hear about this though Twitter. Probably going to be taking some time off it for a while.

Actually, I do like pink clothes, but it's not because I'm girly, it's because I'm the reincarnation of Oscar Wilde.

I've always really loved stories told from the point of view of children.

If I were to talk to Lindsay Lohan, I'd encourage her to get the hell out of acting and into something soothing. Take up botany or something.

I didn't want to whisper and giggle about [puberty] anymore. I felt incredibly self-conscious. I felt like I was losing myself, and I was losing who I was. And that really scared me.

I don't know if I'm always going to be acting. Maybe when I grow up, I will be a scriptwriter. I already have a few scripts in my head.

I'd rather be known for my accomplishments, and for things that I really do take pride in, rather than known for this doll-like image I had when I was a child.

If you can affect someone when they're young, you are in their heart forever.

I didn't trust adults because I thought they were all kind of corrupted.

That's my suggestion for kids who want to act, by the way: Make sure it's really your choice, get out of it when it stops being fun, and get an education.

If I ever have children of my own, they will read Matilda. They will watch the movie. And you can bet they will see Matilda: The Musical.

My mother died when I was young, and I was filming all the time. I was all over the place. Acting was the one constant.

I didn't want to be a former child actor for the rest of my life, although in some ways I suppose I am. I am going to be that.

It is strange to have everybody in the world still think of you as a child.

I consider my relationship with acting in Hollywood as sort of a mutual breakup. Through puberty, Hollywood didn't really want me anymore, and I was like, 'Yeah, I don't really want you, either.'

I'm surprised by how much I remember.

My grades in high school were not very good. I was that kind of perfectionist that figured if you can't do it perfectly, why do it at all?

I was never a prodigy. I was never a child genius.

People think I'm smarter than I am.

I've never considered myself cool, and I don't think I ever will be. Honestly, it's better that way. It's much less pressure.

When you're an actor, your body isn't your own. Your body is part of a tool that you use. Everybody else there is using you as a tool, so they have access to those things, too.

I didn't trust adults because I thought they were all kind of corrupted. I thought children were pure and innocent, and that was inherently better. I guess I was a philosophical child.

I was very aware of being younger than everybody on set.

Sure, I love to read, and I love to learn, but I was always nerdy that way.

People view child actors the same way that girls treat their Barbie dolls.

I was such a nerd. It just wasn't something I would have wanted. And I didn't want to act like an adult.

Of course I didn't have a boyfriend then. I didn't even have a camp boyfriend then [at age of 13].

It's a little bit annoying, because it feels like everybody's taking the power away from you. Everybody's taking your adult life away from you. On one level, I used to resent it.

It's easier to see children as mini adults than it is to imagine or to remember what it is to be a child again.

I think I might like to try film again just as an experiment, but I know that I could never do the mainstream thing again.

No, you will never see me on 'Dancing With the Stars.' Sorry.

Danny DeVito later told me that he knew he wanted me for 'Matilda' the second I walked in the door. I'm not sure if this is true, or if he was just being nice, but I was thrilled when I got it.

People who meet me as an adult are often surprised that I'm alive and have never been in prison or rehab. Sometimes they're disappointed I'm not cooler.

I remember feeling enormous pressure because I didn't want to be Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was Shirley Temple, and I didn't ever feel like I could live up to that.

The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare.

People want to bring kids to their level, and they want to make it seem like kids have this thing. It's seen as funny to them.

The thing is, with writing, it's form or content. You need to write about something interesting or you need to write about it in an interesting way.

It is annoying when people call me Matilda instead of my name when they actually know my name, because you know, we are two different people. But what can you do?

I get a lot of "Shut up, Matilda." I probably get as many "Shut up, Matildas" as Wil Wheaton gets "Shut up, Wesleys." That was an actual line on his show, though.

Children change a lot in terms of personality. Camaraderie that you feel with somebody might not be there a year later.

I thought children were pure and innocent, and that was inherently better.

Do people think I'm cool because I was in a movie when I was a child? No. Well, maybe a little bit more than they used to. There's definitely a nostalgia factor.

I still get recognized. It's flattering, but it can be uncomfortable. Maybe because it only seems to happen when I'm looking and feeling crappy.

People like to make children into little grown-ups.

When my oldest brother started acting. From there, I wanted to act myself. That's the long story short.