Claire Danes

Acting is a humiliating job, from start to finish.

My first offer was when I was 12, and it was for a soap opera. And I turned it down because I knew that I was an unformed actor, and I didn't want to develop bad habits.

But I don't know if people are meant to be together. You have to have a lot in common, choose well and be really fortunate. It's not like you're sprinkled with fairy dust. You have to believe that love will be there when you need it.

I would not say that secret-keeping is one of my finer skills, actually.

Relationships are a constant negotiation and balance.

Once you get over that peak of puberty, you hit a nice stride.

I was very driven to act from a very young age, and my parents were not only tolerant of that drive but also encouraging.

Every time I make a movie, I'm prepared for it to become influential and career-defining - but I have no control over these things.

Narciso Rodriguez was my first fashion big brother. He made my wedding dress, which was wonderful.

I hadn't been free from adult responsibilities since I was 12, and I needed to experience that. I really needed to just be a kid again.

I have to expose myself and then accept the judgment that audiences and critics will have. And that's okay. I appreciate the elliptical nature of it. Sometimes people are more in the mood to be nice to me than others, and that's great.

Fame doesn't end loneliness.

I get a little jealous of these actor boys. They walk into a club, and in two seconds flat there are swarms of girls who are wanting so badly to touch them or just say hello. That's not the case with me, or any other girl I know.

I was a pretty nerdy kid. I was pretty nerdy. I'm still kind of nerdy. I have all of the worst qualities of being a nerd - all of the affect and none of the smarts. I'm a useless nerd! That's pretty bad.

I actually think in some ways that it might be more challenging to be bipolar because it's so mercurial - it's so ever-changing. You can't get any traction. You can't build on a system. Whereas, somebody who has Asperger's, which is certainly a much more forgiving expression of autism, can create models for coping and build on them over time.

I am not a genius. But I am nerdy.

Voice over can be tricky. It can be dangerous because it's over-used or inappropriately used.

My go-to gifts are scarves from my friend Matin Maulawizada's nonprofit organization, Afghan Hands, which supports disenfranchised women in Afghanistan. In exchange for their beautiful embroidery, the women are given financial aid and classes in math and literacy. The scarves are all stunning and one of a kind.

When I was a kid, I was one of those really obnoxious 'oooh oooh' girls, with my hand up in the air constantly. I've learned over the years that that's not so attractive, so I've censored that.

I like reading novels because it provides insight into human behavior. I am really interested in feelings and think they are what define us as a species. When you really get it right in acting, it's an act of empathy. You feel less distant from others, and that is really exciting.

I don't know any celebrated people that register in a big way who aren't unique.

If I took my characters home with me, half of my life would be a misery, I think. No, I tend to compartmentalize work from my life. I'm not terribly method.

I would sign on for projects that were meant to shoot in July, and then they would postponed and they would bleed into the following semester, and then I'd take a semester off, and then the movie would collapse.

However, I'm at a very comfortable place in my career and celebrity, in that I don't have to audition as extensively as I used to for roles but yet I'm not immediately recognizable.

College was just so essential for my sense of self and my development.

My character was kidnapped by the Terminator and I was kidnapped by the Terminator production.

I think people who make movies and have invested a lot of money in them get frightened that if they challenge an audience they are going to repel them. And I think the opposite; it's really true.

I particularly love Israel. I've had fantastic experiences there.

Oliver Stone's strategy is to unnerve the actors so as to make them alert and alive.

I actually haven't been approached a whole lot for television, believe it or not.

I was a very confident child. I knew I wanted to be an actress from the age of 5.

Maybe philosophy - I love talking about ideas. Or maybe art history. I was thinking about psychology, then I got really afraid because everybody says it's terribly boring.

Autism does exist on a spectrum, and there are so many manifestations of it, so many kinds of expressions of it. And every case is particular.

Psychology and acting are very closely linked. It's just about studying people and how they work. It can be an incredible discipline and exercise.

I discovered Orson Welles in college; my freshman English professor screened 'Citizen Kane' for us, and I wound up writing a 20-page term paper on it.

The first time I realised I was patriotic was after September 11th.

You don't realize how useful a therapist is until you see yourself on e and discover you have more problems than you ever dreamed of.

I'm only realizing now that I was a child actress because I always took myself so seriously.

Acting is the greatest answer to my loneliness that I have found.

My parents never condescended to me. As a child, I always sat at the head of our dinner table. I was always given a lot of responsibility.

I really have never been concerned about being beautiful on-screen. That's just not my jam.

There was a solid year and a half, perhaps two years, after making 'Temple Grandin,' when I didn't do anything. I just didn't have much patience for roles that were silly, or light, or inconsequential.

I should be so lucky to be a misfit. I aspire to be a misfit.

If I hadn't been an actress, I was thinking seriously about going into psychology. It's just really what I'm interested in: the human psyche and how we process information.

I know, it's true. I've played these tortured teenagers. I can't wait to shed that image.

I think 'Breaking Bad' is incredible.

I discovered Christopher Isherwood in college. His writing style is so direct, warm, and inclusive.

I like reading novels because it provides insight into human behavior.

I'm so impressed by Jennifer Lawrence and Carey Mulligan. They have this exquisite taste. They are very gifted in their ability to make great choices.

We just can't shake monogamy. It definitely demands a kind of rigor and discipline and selflessness. But it's also fun.

I guess I stopped acting when I was 18 and didn't pick it up again until I was 21. That wasn't the plan, though. When I first started at Yale, the plan was to do a movie each summer.

I can get a dance party started pretty much anywhere and anytime.

I do know how to fire a machine gun, so be warned! I'm trained!

I like marriage. I feel very secure. It helps when you are in love with the person you are married to.

Any story is better with a little love in it, right?

People with bipolar disorder have difficulty with boundaries.

There's certainly something very uncomfortable about the voyeurism involved in being in the press, being an actor, where people have a seemingly insatiable curiosity about, you.

If you do something that you're not genuinely passionate about, it is a little soul-crushing. Just not worth it.

I have a huge, active imagination, [and] I think I'm really scared of being alone; because if I'm left to my own devices, I'll just turn into a madwoman.

I really liked Yale, although it was extremely intimidating. When I visited the campus, I was hiding behind trees, I felt so unworthy.

People in the CIA, they marry each other. They're like actors! We have to travel without much warning to far-flung places, and it's very hard to communicate what our experiences are like to those in the outside world.

Actors want to surprise themselves. When it's really good, you kind of transcend yourself, and that happens infrequently. Very, very rarely.

By the time I went to Yale, I'd been acting for a long time and I was really tired of it. I was restless - and a little bored - and I was really eager to investigate different parts of myself.

Growing up in New York with artist parents - a very liberal environment, where we were always encouraged to challenge the status quo - I think for a long time I confused jingoism with patriotism. And that is a mistake.

When you really get it right in acting, it's an act of empathy. You feel less distant from others, and that is really exciting.

I used to have nightmares when I was a little kid that I woke up prematurely and opened all the Christmas presents. And then I would be so relieved when I woke up and I realized that I hadn't done it.

You know, let a few years go by until I hit my midlife crisis. Then that can be documented on film.

I have this book club, and we don't read one book; we offer up a few suggestions and create a library over time.

I could truly have gone through life thinking that women were these venomous creatures. Turns out, they're not.

Fame doesnt end loneliness.

Growing up, I wanted desperately to please, to be a good girl.

I was a serious kid to an absurd degree. I was overwhelmed with responsibility. You know, trying to play grown up. I overdid it.

I got an agent when I was 12, and I started working in more amateur productions well before that. But even as a kid, I never felt like a kid actor, you know? I always took myself kind of absurdly seriously.

You have to pick your battles on set.

In New York City, everybody goes into therapy.

On a film you can really get away with learning the scene the night before and that's often just not possible with TV, so you have to be a little bit more prepared a little bit more in advance.

I'm exceptionally open with my own parents, and they're exceptionally open with me.

As a young performer, I didn't know that you can have a great time playing someone in terrible crisis. The more you know it's not real, the deeper you can go into it. And the easier it is to let it go when it's done.

I'm just always learning lines. I've learned to flag the really crucial scenes, and I start figuring them out and committing them to memory as soon as I get them.

I've always had a really active imagination. Lots of kids have imaginary friends. Mine just took on a rather demonic form.

It just seems like the most successful, iconic love stories are not so easy or escapist. I think the ones that stay with us and resonate are full of conflict, discord and misunderstandings 'cause that's what makes drama happen or tension even if it's a comedy.

You have to stay hydrated when you have crying scenes.

I fantasized about being a psychology major when I first started school, and I took a handful of Psych 101 classes.

Steve Martin is one of my favorite performers, writers, artists of all time.

I think because I am as earnest as I am, people were accepting of my evolving into a certified, legitimate, and grown up and I did take three years off.

People confuse fame with validation or love. But fame is not the reward. The reward is getting fulfillment out of doing the thing you love.

I have a huge, active imagination, and I think I'm really scared of being alone; because if I'm left to my own devices, I'll just turn into a madwoman.

I'm just a big old nerd.

The big question is always, 'Eyes or lips?' I tend to go with the eyes because I've got a lot more material to work with now - and it saves me from reapplying lipstick! I'm a pretty low-maintenance person and it's too excessive to exaggerate both the eyes and lips.

It's funny with jeans now, because if they don't feel like a pair of sweatpants, I don't have patience for them anymore! I think I'm becoming increasingly lazy.

I think I would make a lousy stay-at-home mom. It just wouldn't suit me.

I think it's important to never play 'crazy' - you have to know what kind of crazy you're playing.

Most people assume that autistic people are not capable of empathy.

Growing up in New York City, I was always encouraged to question authority, and I think I confused patriotism with jingoism.

I became very successful at a young age... I had lots of opportunities and lots of power and had no idea how to focus it.

I have this home in New York, I have a long-term relationship with my boyfriend, who's from Australia, and I had this business that I had maintain. Even though I wasn't actively shooting, there's a lot of peripheral work.

So much of my job is about finding another job, and that's really boring.

I've always very earnestly tried to do my best, so I just have to trust that and forgive myself for being fallible.

I finally realized that yeah I did want to be an actor and it wasn't out of habit, but I needed to grow up for myself and then kind of re-enter the industry with a sound understanding of what my sensibilities and my values are as a relatively formed human being.

Every three seconds in the developing world, a child dies needlessly due to lack of basic health care and other things we all take for granted.