Jodhi May Quotes

Acting is about covering up traces of who you are and just being the character. I think it's easier to accept people in roles if you don't know a lot about them.

With acting, there is a level of anonymity which is conducive to your profession. There are examples of very public people who are on the cover of every celebrity magazine but can't open a film.

After getting recognized in public from my picture on our pretzel bag, I can understand not wanting to be in the public eye. It has given me a public persona I had always avoided as a child. I do it because it's for a good cause.

Your face is your calling card, but you're not so famous that you can't go out.

I get recognised sometimes, and that's really cool. I've tried certain disguises, but that doesn't work.

I like being famous when it's convenient for me and completely anonymous when it's not.

This may sound mad, but you sort of assume that no one's going to watch what you do. You go on set, have a lovely time, and then you forget anyone's going to see it. So it's always a bit of a shock to be recognized. I get terribly embarrassed.

I enjoy being a character actor; I enjoy being different in everything. I want a private life; I want to be able to go to 7-11 and not get into a fight with a guy because he saw me in a movie, or not have people hitting on me simply because they saw me in a movie.

I walk the streets, take the train, it's real simple. Some actors create their own mythology: 'Oh, I'm so famous I can't go places, because I created this mythology that I'm so famous I can't go places.'

Actors will change their face, will change their hair, will change their voice, will disappear into the role. A movie star doesn't disappear.

Like, people recognizing me on the street never interested me.

Some of the biggest movie stars in the world are essentially characters.

For me, I would prefer to not have my face on the album cover. I don't mind being in the public, but it's just not really my personality, and it's not really why I'm into this. I like making art, and that's it. I don't really want to be a celebrity, seriously. I like my privacy.

I'm not someone who enjoys being recognised too much.

For me, I didn't want to be famous and there was a desire to be me and not 'that guy from the band' so I was happy to see it all go.

I used to enjoy the anonymity of being a literary figure and occasionally a public radio figure.

I was a celebrity. This is not what I do for a living - politics. I play politicians, as well as working class or clergy or whatever, and you mustn't be confused by what you're seeing on television because that's not who I am. So I always ended it.

For the 'Riddick' character, I try to get as ruthless as possible, and I want to be a machine.

I can go out in public without being recognized. If I want to be recognized in public, it will happen.

I don't feel like a pop star. I like being able to live my life the same as my mates. I don't get recognised much.

I wanted a pseudonym partly because I'm quite shy and private. I know that sounds ludicrous, but if I should be lucky enough to make a hit, I wanted to be able to shrug off the mantel of Nick Harkaway when I got home.

As an actor you accept that you have to publicise what you do, but as for the whole personal life thing that people sometimes choose, no, that's not for me.

I'm in that comfortable niche where I'm not that famous and sometimes people do need to put a barrier between them and their followers. When you're real famous you need to do that but I'm not that famous so I don't need that kind of barrier.

But I just wonder what it would be like to be able to go places without people recognizing me.

I just hate the idea of being well known. I know that is almost impossible if you're an actor who has done okay, but I've always fought against it.