Jessica Lange Quotes

For me, nothing has ever taken precedence over being a mother and having a family and a home.

I have been a waitress, and I was a damn fine waitress too, let me tell you.

The worst is when I talk myself into something. Sometimes you take things because you want to work with a certain actor, or you want to work with a director, even if the script or the part`s not that great.

When I am home for like a two-year stretch, I get antsy, because I want to work.

There was that feminist myth that we can do everything. I don`t think you can.

There are no explanations, there are no answers.

It comes down to something really simple: Can I visualize myself playing those scenes? If that happens, then I know that I will probably end up doing it.

This idea of selfishness as a virtue, as opposed to generosity: That, to me, is unnatural.

Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.

Families survive, one way or another. You have a tie, a connection that exists long after death, through many lifetimes.

I worked on my voice for Sweet Dreams, but only to match my speaking voice to Patsy`s actual singing voice. That was my way into that character.

One of the things I love about acting is that it reveals a certain something about yourself, but it doesn`t reveal your own personal story.

Sometimes the odds are against you-the director doesn`t know what the hell he`s doing, or something falls apart in the production, or you`re working with an actor who`s just unbearable.

It was easier to do Shakespeare than a lot of modern movie scripts that are so poorly written.

I never felt like I belonged in Minnesota when I was growing up there. That`s why I was out the door as soon as I turned 18.

To stay interested in acting, I have to keep trying stuff I`ve never done before.

I`ve got nothing left to lose at this point. The work I`ve done is out there.

We are not the originators of the story. I think it`s actually the opposite when you`re an actor. You`re telling somebody else`s story.

I`ve been thinking a lot about next year, which will be the first time in 25 years that I don`t have a child at home.

The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.

I love being a mother. I loved being a daughter, a sister, a wife. I love being a woman with men. I love having given birth.

Sometimes parts just come along when it`s the perfect time for you to do them.

At a certain age, death becomes familiar to you-or a loss becomes familiar-the tragedies that are more commonplace in life.

I had never done Shakespeare before, but I don`t think you can be an actor and not do it. There were moments when I thought, I`m just not going to be able to pull this off.

TV is sort of the only way to go for an actress my age to make a decent salary; with independent films, you just can`t.

To work on the actual location I think is great. This thing of going to Canada and pretending you`re in New York, it`s terrible.

To my mind the election was stolen by George Bush and we have been suffering ever since under this man`s leadership.

To work with a director that has emotional commitment and passion toward the characters, and the piece, and the experiences, it only enriches your work.

Because Shakespeare`s language is so expansive, we`re under this misconception that it`s difficult. But I discovered that it`s easy because it`s so brilliantly written. The words are perfect, and the language is intelligent and very emotional.

The only place I`ve felt was really my home is my cabin up north. There`s something in the water there that connects me to that place. There`s also this sense of isolation and loneliness about it that I`ve never been able to shake.

Allow the diversity to exist. There is nothing wrong with it. Hell, we put up with the religious right-we can put up with transgendered human beings.

I am tortured when I am away from my family, from my children. I am horribly guilt-ridden.

In families there is always the mythology. My father died when my kids were quite young still, and yet they still tell his stories. That is how a person lives on.

Successful model? That`s a myth. The year I modeled was the most painful year of my life. Editors would always talk to you in the third person as though you were merely a piece of merchandise.