Annette Bening Quotes
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Most people are looking for something to give their life meaning.
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I'm interested in writing that explores all sides of human beings.
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I think in the past, around the time that method acting became so prevalent, it used to be that American actors were thought to be the kind that would work more from the inside out, and that the English actors worked more from the outside in.
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It's easier to see in someone else, another actor, how they kind of disappear and then this other persona appears. A great actor is a thing of mystery.
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I've played parts that were just likable people, and there's a certain pleasure in that. And that's that.
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When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great women's roles.
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I think when you're at your best as an actor, it is cathartic.
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I think people have a right to their point of view.
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I don't see myself as competing with other actresses. I mean, I went through a time when I was in New York, and I was going to lots of auditions and trying to get parts, but even then, you're not really competing with the other actresses. There is a competition going on, but it's not like something you can win in that way.
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I have huge chunks of time when I'm not working.
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I still remember the five points of salesmanship: attention, interest, conviction, desire and close.
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Acting is not about being famous, it's about exploring the human soul.
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There are so many different kinds of relationships, so it's sort of difficult to define what is considered normal.
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I think what's interesting about the whole paparazzi thing is that unless you're Brad Pitt or Madonna, you can pretty much avoid it. You know when you're going to an opening that you will be photographed, so that's fine. And you know the restaurants that have paparazzi, so you don't go to them.
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A lot of directors in my experience are very receptive. They see what you do first, and then they want to find a place to put the camera, and they tweak you here and there.
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Sometimes you're reading something, and you don't know it will be important in your life. You're reading this script, and you start to get involved. It's not an intellectual experience.
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My dad was in the life insurance business, so I learned about selling when I was about 14 because I started working as a secretary.
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I wanted to be a classical actress. I plodded along. I went to junior college in San Francisco, I was in a Repertory Company. My hero was Eva Le Gallienne, who was a great theater actress at the turn of the century who created her own company, and she wrote these hilarious autobiographies at the time.
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I've tried to take roles with great demands.
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I remember hearing someone say that good acting is more about taking off a mask than putting one on, and in movie acting, certainly that's true. With the camera so close, you can see right down into your soul, hopefully. So being able to do that in a way is terrifying, and in another way, truly liberating. And I like that about it.
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Find the story you want to tell. If you don't want to write it, find somebody to write it.
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What really motivates you to try to work things out as an actor is in large part fear, because you want to get into that narrative and bring the audience along.
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And if there's anything movies can do in a way that I just love, and I love as an audience is, 'Show me something I don't know about. Show me something I haven't seen.'
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We all get lost along the way, but hopefully we figure out some sort of path. It helps if you can imagine the process as well as the goal. Those kinds of dreams are easier to achieve.