Acting is illusion, as much illusion as magic is - and not so much a matter of being real.

Acting is a masochistic form of exhibitionism. It is not quite the occupation of an adult.

The humility to prepare and the self-confidence to bring it off.

Don't waste your time striving for perfection; instead, strive for excellence - doing your best.

Have a very good reason for everything you do.

If I wasn't an actor, I think I'd have gone mad. You have to have extra voltage, some extra temperament to reach certain heights.

Surely we have always acted; it is an instinct inherent in all of us. Some of us are better at it than others, but we all do it.

The art of persuasion. The actor persuades himself, first, and through himself, the audience.

Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. You'll be afraid you can't achieve it. It's your excuse to yourself for not doing anything. Instead, strive for excellence, doing your best.

Use your weaknesses; aspire to the strength.

Shakespeare - The nearest thing in incarnation to the eye of God.

But perhaps she has given me the strength and the madness to write about the things that I once desired so long to put against the world.

He's sort of a Svengali... It means someone who's manipulative. More than that: somebody who makes you think that you need him in order to accomplish anything.

Be good, be young, be true! Evil is nothing but vanity, let us have the pride of good, and above all let us never despair.

I consider every step towards doing what you love an achievement.

Laughing and crying, you know it's the same release.

I do think it's important for young women to know that magazine covers are retouched. People don't really look like that.

People should be judged on the basis of their performance, not nationality, personality, education, or personal traits and skills.

When you play somebody, you pick up a lot of their gestures, his voice, the way he speaks, his body language. You don't often get that opportunity.

Read a lot, finding out what kind of writing turns you on, in order to develop a criterion for your own writing. And then trust it-and yourself.

I'm an orphan!" Constance cried gleefully. "I'm an orphan!" ~ The Prisoner's Dilemma