Actress

When I left the house to become an actress, my mother literally flung her body across the door and said, 'You're killing me!' It was a very strict household. That can be okay, but there was also no nourishment, either.

Telling parents in New Jersey you want to act isn't exactly like telling them you want to be a doctor or a dentist. There are no guarantees. It's hard, but all the arts are. Can you imagine the pain of writer's block?

It's never too late to go out and get that feeling back.

Animals are thinking, feeling creatures. They're sensitive.

Everybody has their thing. I think you can always do what you like.

I don't think we should be deprived of the privilege of free speech.

I've played some great ladies. Mame. Agnes Gooch in 'Mame,' when I started out in the '60s... it's a beautiful role.

So much of life is luck. One day you make a right turn and get hit by a car. Turn left and you meet the love of your life. I think I made the correct turn.

I'm a movie buff. My mom would take me to a double feature. We'd come out, go have Chinese food, and then go back into another cinema and see another double feature. I feel I'm a child of the movies.

Television is hard work. It's all hard work. Theatre is hard work. I tell you, I have bruises from changing backstage. Those quick changes are really difficult.

It wasn't so much that I was all alone on stage, but it was the realization of how much you need the response-you need the audience to tell you where to go.

The pursuit of happiness is in our Constitution. We're all entitled to have the best we can.

I'm an art collector, have been for years, and I paint. Needless to say, the artwork in my houses, apartment is extensive.

Acting is not hiding to me; it's revealing. We give you license to feel. 'Hey, she's crying, so it's okay if I cry, too.' That's the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that's when you're dead.

You only know what you know.

Our planet is dying. Whales will be extinct before we ever get to know them. They say these creatures are so intelligent. They may disappear from the face of the Earth before we know them, and that is a great tragedy.

Actors are always identified with certain parts. To some, Marlon Brando will always be the Godfather. That's just how it is, whether the character happens to be your own personal favorite role or not. You can't ever get away from it.

My parents didn't want me to go into show business. They were afraid of what would happen if I didn't succeed. They wanted me to get married and have babies. I never saw marriage and family in my life.

I never really thought it out. I just woke up one day, and I was involved in all these projects. They just seemed to involve animals.

Shirley Valentine is a beautiful character and so well written. What Shirley speaks and thinks is so logical.