Patti LuPone Quotes

"The audiences that inspire me are the ones that are not asleep."

"I knew before I knew anything else that my career was in Europe. I wanted a career there. I`ve always thought that was who I am and that what I look like belongs in Italy. I made a film there and I looked around and thought, `God, I`m a beauty here. I mean, I`m really gorgeous here.`"

"For a long time, I don`t think people thought I was capable of comedy. I mean, I`m Italian, so crying has always been easy for me - our emotions are just underneath the skin. But I`ve always had a black sense of humor, and I`ve always been able to find humor in any situation."

"I`m totally Italian, and it`s a big personality. But I`m not a diva. If you could see the way I`m dressed in daily life, that`s not a diva. Appearances are so not important to me."

"I`m fairly tough on anybody who isn`t there for the play. I`m very tough on people who are in it for the wrong reason. I`m very tough on people who don`t remember that there`s an audience out there paying a lot of money. The bottom line is that I love the theater. I realized when I came back (after an absence in L.A.) and put my foot on the boards, this is where I belong."

A well-rounded performer will listen to all kinds of music. I like classical, Middle Eastern, and rock a lot.

A show is exhausting when it stinks. It`s exhausting when you have to work overtime to make something work.

I just love chickens.

Smile at a stranger. See what happens.

The word diva to me means doing something supernatural with something natural.

I think Madonna is a wonderful performer.

We`re not show-business people. We have a life.

I learned a long time ago from David Mamet to wipe your feet at the door, get it out on stage and then go about your life.

The theater is a tough place. It`s not cushioned the way it is in film and television.

I just create, that`s what I do.

To be nominated was enough, but when I won I the Tony I just felt relief.

Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we`re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.

I played the tuba in high school. I wanted to be a member of the marching band. I thought, what can I play that has the most effect? What can I play to get people to laugh?

I`m totally Italian, but I`m not a diva. If you could see the way I`m dressed in daily life, that`s not a diva. Appearances are so not important to me.