Quotes About Authenticity

Art should walk a tightrope. That's what art should be. Art should be dangerous. You can't be scared to say something with it. People love to talk about how comics are real art and real literature, so why not use these characters to talk about real things, even if it is dangerous?

I'm not that flashy in private; I'm usually pretty reserved. But on stage, it's about not being afraid of anything - of anyone judging you. It's one place you can be free. So why not sing as loud as you can, hoop and holler and jump around? A show is a moment. When it's done, it's over. I find that extremely liberating.

Rather than diminishing the idea of 'truly needing' a relationship - and trying to deny it, shame it, or talk ourselves out of it - why not just celebrate it? It's exactly what the world needs.

Teens are not like the weird, dumb dwarves you have around your house. They are actually you when you were younger. Why not write a book which is as sophisticated as a book for an adult, but is about the concerns that teenagers actually have?

I listen to music to when I'm feeling a certain way or to make myself feel a certain way. So why not make my own music inspired by true emotions?

I have never shied away from looking old or playing older roles on TV, since I feel my audiences know the real me, so why not have fun with roles that are not me.

The thing is you can never sugarcoat anything, If you're going to tell a story, tell the truth. If you're going to tell something, why not tell it all?

People will know if you are telling the truth or lying. If you are doing commentary, why not tell the truth?

Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?

I, I am my own woman. I have not been, quote, 'bred' to look the other way. I look at that man back there in the green room straight on, eyes wide open, and I look at him with an open heart.

I think people are used to seeing actors be wide open and desperately giving of themselves, and while I do that on a movie set as much as I can, it's so unnatural for me to do it on television, in interviews, in anything like that. I also don't find that my process as an actor is really anyone else's business.

What most people know about me, they know through my music. This time, I've tried to open that door as wide as possible. These songs are a giant step closer to who I really am and what my music is all about. Hence the title.

You must photograph where you are involved; where you are overwhelmed by what you see before you; where you hold your breath while releasing the shutter, not because you are afraid of jarring the camera, but because you are seeing with your guts wide open to the sweet pain of an image that is part of your life.

I've got quite an old-fashioned figure. Back in the Sixties, girls had boobs, a tummy and wide hips, and bigger thighs as well. I think that's sexy - to me, that's what a woman looks like. I've got love handles - sometimes they're passion handles! I'm built for comfort, not for speed, and I like that about myself.

I'm not a big fan of shooting something that looks like it could belong in any movie. I'm not a fan of, okay, 'wide shot, wide shot, medium shot, close-up, close-up - we'll figure it out in post.' I hate that.

When I played Robert Howard in 'The Whole Wide World', I was struggling with it. There's this dual thing where you feel real good about being able to play this juicy part, and then there's constant shame: 'Who am I to pretend to know who this guy was? Who am I to represent this guy for people who never knew him?'

Everyone realizes that one can believe little of what people say about each other. But it is not so widely realized that even less can one trust what people say about themselves.

It's true I'm more widely recognised now and get invited to take part in all sorts of events and projects but as a person, I haven't changed.

No matter how widely spread out the films are, how different, you still are you.

I don't try to hide who I am when I appear in public places, act, or attend interviews. If I do, it makes the gap even wider. I like it best when someone says I'm the same on television, on camera, or off camera. This makes it easier for me.

You don't necessarily need Bollywood for wider acclaim.

It is wrong if nearly every time we hear a black or Asian actor portraying their lives they are actually speaking the words of someone who has never experienced their reality. And to effectively silence disabled people from telling their own truth on film or TV is close to criminal and will not help wider society understand their reality.

I'm not a chef, and I'm not an expert at anything. I'm just a mom and a wife.

I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions based on someone else's idea of our happiness - what will make you a good citizen or a good wife or daughter or actress. Nobody says, 'Just be happy - go be a cobbler or go live with goats.'