Mary Steenburgen Quotes
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I grew up believing in Santa Claus, and we still treat our house at Christmas with a huge reverence for that belief - even though our children are 19 through 23.
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Acting was far from my world. I rarely saw a play. I never met a real actress; they seemed unreal.
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Reading is how I became an actor because I didn't grow up in a house where there was an awareness of film or theater. I also grew up in a house full of teachers, so reading was big in our world.
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It's usually, my people speak to your people and then they speak around each other and trade calls for weeks.
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I've found that most people who studied when they were little, even if they never took another tap class, it's percussive, so it stays in your body, the muscle memory of it.
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I actually believed if I behaved myself and if I made straight A's and if I was good enough, I could save my dad's life. And every single time he had a heart attack, I knew what I had done that caused it.
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I did sing in a choir for a while, but if anybody was sick, I always whispered my songs to make sure nobody could pick out my voice.
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I wasn't making any money, but I didn't feel unsuccessful because of that. You can do that in New York but not in Hollywood. In Hollywood, it is how much money you make.
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I know that's why I became an actress. In my dream world, I could get mad and scream and yell, and if somebody died, they got up again. In real life, I didn't dare try it.
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If you're not growing, you're dying, and I'm not ready for that.
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1977 is the year I made my first movie. Shortly after, I was offered quite nice roles in television. The general consensus among everyone was that I'd be out of my mind to do that.
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I'm not saying it's easy, and it's definitely harder for women. Because there is definitely a double standard about gorgeous older men, and it's different for older women.
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What a mother I am. I can't even make popcorn.
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I remember when I was growing up and watching southern people depicted on television, I thought, 'Well, based on what I'm seeing, I guess I'm supposed to be stupid and racist.' It's still, sadly, the easy route for a writer to go.
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Anything to do with the South resonates with me, because I'm Southern.
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Ultimately, there are only two emotions: love and fear. And pretty much anything else you want to name can be broken down into one of those.
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I'm a chameleon when it comes to languages.
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I wish sometimes people wouldn't underestimate me. But it's a fleeting wish. It's not where I live.
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I like being part of a team.
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Let me put it this way. There is more to acting than just acting like somebody. I like to act in such a way that other people get some notion of what it's like to be somebody.
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I used to think I was going to die wise, and now, the one wisdom I have is I know very little.
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You've never seen anything until you've seen David Mamet be an Edwardian lady. He always conveys what he means, but he's so... masculine.
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I want women, especially young women, to create a world where your success is not based on being young.
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As an actor, you're always looking for, what do I get to do? It's not just what do I say, but what do I do, too.