Quotes from Laura Dern

I'm interested in human nature. That's why I chose to become an actor. Whatever people are struggling with, the struggle is often where the drama is.

I knew you had to go in and audition and maybe they'd hire you, and that's where you start. I had a good understanding about press: that it's the actor's responsibility to publicize his or her films.

If you're looking to be loved for a part, it's great and enticing to be adorable in a romantic comedy. But then, as an actor, you get stuck.

I was raised by an actress, and I watched all those women turn 60 and ask, Shouldn't get face work? My mother and Anne Bancroft said, We're not going to fall into that.

Everything's cyclical. Having been raised by actors, I watched their careers, and the challenge is to take time off.

I made a commitment to myself; that I wanted to be an actress, and I wanted to do films that make a difference. It has to move people.

I think it's about not just the crisis you're in, but how do you get to the other side? How do we heal? How do we survive this experience while remaining hopeful instead of filled with despair? That's what interests me.

The really courageous and bold thing is to make movies about human behaviour.

I was on the cover of a lot of magazines, and there were compliments about beauty and fashion and what I was wearing. Man, if you get locked into that, you can lose your freedom as an actress.

I've seen 3-D movies where it seems a little crude or too in-your-face.

Sadly, half of marriages end in divorce. Half of my girl friends and male friends have been through one, and their kids are doing great. There's no shame around it - unless you want to project that on to yourself - but certainly there's no longer cultural shame. Everyone is walking through it.

I feel so lucky to have a mom who is not only an extraordinary actor but someone who is game enough to not worry about our relationship versus what we play in movies or television.

Diet is weird. It's elusive. I just try to listen to my body.

I think people do their bravest work when given an elusive canvas. That would be seemingly the weirdest, but also the most wonderful.

If I had different parents who were in it for the money, I might have a different perspective. But they really are artists; they intelligently approach each character and prepare in every sense of the word. I grew up in a world that had great discipline.

I will be working with David Lynch when I'm 80.

You must always watch when David Lynch makes anything.

Decision-making is very scary for me.

David Lynch is like that - every sound, every detail to the end of making the film, he never gives up. It has to be perfect.

I'm moved by people who see the world differently than others. People who see the world with a longing for its poetry often can be broken people.

I think my mom exposed me to the concept of using your voice for anything you care about.

People now tell me it's a good thing I stayed away from teen films. Well, it wasn't my choice. I wasn't hired.

I was raised Catholic, and my grandmother taught me to stay. As a teenager, I thought if you went on a date, you should stay for a couple of years. I didn't realize that if he wasn't your cup of tea, you got to leave.

You don't have to run away from life your whole life. You can really live. You can change. And you can be an agent of change.