Citas

Every young actress thinks she's a tragedian -- the more tragic roles, the more you cry, the more you suffer, the better an actress you are. But, when I got a little older, a little more mature, I wanted to get out of my image of "the victimized kid." I began to say, "Wait a minute. There's a thing called comedy that takes an even rougher intelligence and more technique and knowledge of the craft.

I'd be the girl of the gangster... then the sister who was bringing up the gangster... then the mother of the gangster... and they always had me ironing somebody's shirt.

What did Hitchcock teach me? To be a puppet and not try to be creative.

Paramount paid me by the tear.

Prima donnas in anything are bad... Having a child was a great leveling agent. Those babies couldn't care less that their parents were famous.

Women who try to hide their age just call attention to it. Why lie about it? I don't feel any younger... I don't look any younger. Somebody finds out about your real age eventually. It's easier to be frank about it... I've enjoyed every age in my life. I've never wanted to go back.

What's the use of talking about a favorite role if you can't get it... The role you're doing ought to be your favorite. If you don't like a part it's probably because you've a feeling of inadequacy about it.

Hollywood! It's like an old chair - if it's useful, keep it; if not, give it to Goodwill.

Fredric March had the reputation of being a ladies man. We made two pictures together, Tuya para siempre (1932) and En mala compañía (1934). But he never laid a hand on me, never made a pass at me! Freddie was happily married. He'd tease me by saying, "Look at those boobs!" or "Look at that toosh!". But it was all in fun.

[on realizing she could refuse unsuitable roles] When I realized I didn't have to, I became a bitch on wheels.

[on her unhappy experience working with William Wyler] (He) made me feel so inadequate. More than anybody else, I think, he was responsible for sending me back to the stage to try to regain my security as an actress.

Spencer Tracy was very special. He was not only a great actor, but he listened as well. Tacy would say, 'Acting to me is always reacting!' Tracy and [Henry] Fonda could be in long scenes where they didn't say anything. But you knew they were listening and *hearing* the dialogue.

[1974, on being Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress alongside Linda Blair and eventual winner Tatum O'Neal] They'll never give me the damned Oscar. They'll give it to one of those rotten kids!

[on working with Josef von Sternberg on Una tragedia humana (1931)] He didn't know about actors. He only knew about *film*. And for somebody like me at that time just from the theatre, I thought this man was an idiot. And I later found out he wasn't.

[on Alfred Hitchcock] I adored him... 'cause he thought I was an idiot... How can you go wrong with a director who thinks you're a fool?

[on acting, 1998] I don't do *anything* by instinct anymore. I wouldn't trust my instinct as far as I could throw me!

[on being questioned about the importance of the eyes when acting on film] Oh, honey, if the close up isn't on you, you can fuck around with your eyes for the rest of your life!

[on Fritz Lang] A very strange man, [but] a wonderful man. I just adored him.

[on Henry Fonda] With Fonda you didn't steal scenes. He was a wonderful actor.

[speaking in 1998] Mars Attacks! (1996)? You call that a film? Jesus!... I have a big thing about Tim Burton. I think he's one of the incredibly talented young men in movies today. He has a *right* to make a mistake. Unfortunately, he made a mistake that cost $80,000,000.

[on being asked "who was the best kisser?" out of her male co-stars] The ones I slept with I never acted with.

If it's a 'role', it's Lady Macbeth. It's Juliet. The things I did were 'parts'. They were jobs.

I didn't say I *felt* I was paid by the tear. I said I was *paid* by the tear. It was not a feeling I had, it was a fact.