Quotes from Vera Farmiga

I hate being manipulated by song. Don't tell me what I should be feeling. I don't want cellos or violins to be telling me that I should be bawling right now.

I'm incredibly spiritual. There are like tens of thousands of denominations; I don't fit in any one of those denominations comfortably. But I have a very personal relationship with God.

Editing is not a part of the filmmaking process I've ever been privy to as an actress.

I'm pretty squeaky clean. No big tragedies in my childhood or adolescence or adulthood. I've had a very easygoing, simple life.

Doubt is the middle position between knowledge and ignorance. It encompasses cynicism but also genuine questioning.

In the quiet moments, the discoveries are made.

You don't have to be gay to be attracted to your friend.

Am I ambitious? I used to be afraid of that word but now I think ambition is a good thing.

It's true: I don't remember what life was like before parenthood.

There are some times when I think acting can be a noble profession. And when those rare roles come along, like 'Down to the Bone,' you have the opportunity to be of service.

I'm part wood nymph. I require mountains and warm, dense patches of moss to thrive.

The more people know about you, the more face-time you get in the media, the harder your job becomes to create a character in whom people suspend disbelief.

I'm a full-time mom. I've never felt as prepared, as before maternity.

I think I always try to be accommodating and open and available and proving for my director. I love to give as many takes as they want. I love to give them as many choices as they want.

I do love directing. I'm only comfortable working in the independent film arena for a very small budget where I have creative control and I can put my stamp on it.

I love Saturday nights with my best friend and a big bowl of pasta, wanting a good scare, something that will say, 'Listen, your life is not as bad as this. Your life can be so much worse'.

I'm hooked on Polanski's films, his psychological thrillers. I love 'Rosemary's Baby,' I love 'Repulsion.'

Editing yourself is like an irksome coin toss. You've got to strip yourself of super ego and operate from the id. Maybe I've got my Freud mixed up. It's just hard to trade a beauty shot for the performance with truth and a brightly lit zit.

I think all religions can agree on certain definitions of God and concepts of God, like God being the god of love, the great 'I am' energy.

I love to be surprised.

I'm from the school of, 'if you want more, you have to require more from yourself.'

The biggest research of all when I do a character is self-examination. You look at yourself and you ask, 'How am I similar to this person and how am I different?'

There's no wrong way to experience a film.

I've never felt the breath of God - you can take that statement literally or metaphorically - more than when I was yearning for a personal, intimate connection to something bigger than me.