Quotes from Claire Danes

Growing up in New York City, I was always encouraged to question authority, and I think I confused patriotism with jingoism.

I became very successful at a young age... I had lots of opportunities and lots of power and had no idea how to focus it.

I was very driven to act from a very young age, and my parents were not only tolerant of that drive but also encouraging.

My goal is always to do something that feels just beyond my reach, and 'Homeland' continues to do that. Every season, they find new ways to scare me. The show is like a diamond that fell from the sky. I'll always feel slightly bludgeoned by it, but in the best way possible.

I love sitting in the makeup trailer and getting my makeup done in 15 minutes as opposed to an hour and a half.

Any story is better with a little love in it, right?

It's very difficult to judge yourself. Extreme self-doubt is only attractive when it's fictionalized. Which is why people love the movies. They are so reassuring.

Voice over can be tricky. It can be dangerous because it's over-used or inappropriately used.

My first offer was when I was 12, and it was for a soap opera. And I turned it down because I knew that I was an unformed actor, and I didn't want to develop bad habits.

Actors want to surprise themselves. When it's really good, you kind of transcend yourself, and that happens infrequently. Very, very rarely.

I'm just always learning lines. I've learned to flag the really crucial scenes, and I start figuring them out and committing them to memory as soon as I get them.

The twenties are a deceptively challenging-slash-painful time. I'm just glad to be out of that phase.

I eat in moderation and try not to worry about it.

We just can't shake monogamy. It definitely demands a kind of rigor and discipline and selflessness. But it's also fun.

I like reading novels because it provides insight into human behavior. I am really interested in feelings and think they are what define us as a species. When you really get it right in acting, it's an act of empathy. You feel less distant from others, and that is really exciting.

Autism does exist on a spectrum, and there are so many manifestations of it, so many kinds of expressions of it. And every case is particular.

I wouldn't say that I'm a naturally political beast.

There's certainly something very uncomfortable about the voyeurism involved in being in the press, being an actor, where people have a seemingly insatiable curiosity about, you.

I think people are made uncomfortable by uncensored expressions of emotion.

I'm just a big old nerd.

I am not a genius. But I am nerdy.

I would rather not work than be a neurotic mess.

I don't know any celebrated people that register in a big way who aren't unique.

When I was a kid, I was one of those really obnoxious 'oooh oooh' girls, with my hand up in the air constantly. I've learned over the years that that's not so attractive, so I've censored that.