Quotes from Samantha Morton

On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.

The thing with me is, if I wake up one morning and I'm not happy working as an actress, I'll stop. It's not something I have to do. It's not a vocation.

I'll never get a part in a huge action blockbuster.

For anyone who's been in care, successfully coming through the system is nothing to with money or success; it's the ability to feel love and be loved in return.

I was physically abused and I retaliated.

I wanted to make a film - and I've been wanting to do this for 16 years - about life in care, and bring it to the public's attention, because I had never seen anything, on TV or in the cinema, which said: 'This is how it feels to be a kid in care'.

I've been in front of a camera since I was a little girl, and that's the medium I understand.

I was angry but not at God. I feel that you are closer to God when you are messed up. Definitely. That's when you most need God, and God cannot control what man does.

I think once you're a mother to one, you're a mother to them all.

I can't act without music very well.

I don't get the point in a lot of biopics, they're boring. You know what's gonna happen. You're just watching actors show off.

When you've been raised in care, rap music isn't just about guns and sexism. They're talking about real things you can hang on to, problems of identity that you have sympathy with. It's not just about the music, with rap: when I was in care, it meant a whole lot more than that.

You get very possessive about characters, you feel you can see it in your mind and you want to play it.

If I'm preparing for something and I've got a huge day the next day, I have to get into character the night before to assess the scene. I can't assess a scene unless I'm in character, if that makes sense.

My mind boggles at the amount of violence inflicted upon children in today's society.

It's more important for me to feel content than to be famous.

I could be equally happy on a film set or in the middle of a field.

You've got all these books on self help, getting to know yourself, doing the right thing, eating the so-called right foods, even down to what books you have on your shelves. People are encouraged to look to themselves first as opposed to being a part of society.

My name can raise money on a small-budget film.

I believe it is my duty as a performer to raise issues in the world of things we're afraid to look at.

I'm an actor. That's what I'm gifted at. It's what makes me breathe.

I hate the analyzing thing. People say, 'Why do you think your character did that? I don't know. I'm not an analyst, and they're not in psychotherapy. Unless it's a film where they're in therapy.

I just get really defensive as soon as anyone comes near my personal life. I made a decision early on that it's strictly off-limits. No exceptions.

Catholicism played such a huge part in my life, I would not have survived without my faith.