Laurie Hernandez Quotes

I was just a small boy from Mississippi, and now little kids are going to identify with me through this game.

Every little girl wanted to be Natalie Wood, as did I.

It is so weird to be on this side of that, because when you're starting out, and it seems like you're starting out for so long, you look up to the people who have made their mark. And you sort of want to be that.

I am pleased that my work has been recognized, and I hope to be a role model.

I hope maybe one day I can be like Wayne Rooney. Maybe then some young players will be proud to play against me. That would be amazing.

It's very motivating, very aspiring to have the knowledge of me being able to be successful so young and have players go out of their way to talk about me.

I will say that if my wildest dreams come true, I will, like, wake up one day, and I will be Carol Dweck, right? Because she is like everything I want to be.

I had one of those light bulb 'a ha' moments while screening 'Good Will Hunting' in Camp David in 1998 - Madeleine Albright and the Clintons were there, and I just became really inspired by all of these amazing people. I left the screening asking myself what I could do.

It was like an honor thing for me to meet 50 cause I respected his whole story.

I hope our hopes and aspirations are bigger than setting records.

I think I find new idols every day - someone that says something really inspiring, is successful, has character.

I want to make him the proudest dad to have me and I want to show everybody and nearly be as good as him because he was the best.

I am extremely proud and honoured to have beaten Pete's record as he was my childhood hero and I have always looked up to him.

Researching Magic Johnson, I realized I clearly haven't done enough with my life.

Michael J. Fox was my idol. I always wanted to be Michael J. Fox.

Always looked up to Brian and his skating, I loved his skating and what he had done for the sport. And the triple axel, that was the thing, and I wanted a triple axel.

I never read the life of any important person without discovering that he knew more and could do more than I could ever hope to know or do in half a dozen lifetimes.

My greatest desire was to be in a sandbox with Kevin Kline or Kenneth Branagh - to be with the people I admired - and I have.

It is so inspiring when you come across a woman who is very strong and dedicated and is amazing at what they do. That's how I feel about Meryl Streep. You watch her, and you can't help but notice all of that about her. She's so influential.

My influences are, number one, hand to Jesus, Halle Berry. I think that she's so brilliant, and I love everything that she does, even 'Catwoman.'

The trailblazers are my role models in this industry: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, and Billy Dee Williams. I keep their pictures in my trailer and try to measure to their standards every time I act.

To be on television and have my nieces and nephews see me, and seeing them wear my shirt to the games and be proud, it's so sweet. Sometimes it feels like it's just a dream.

What is pride? A rocket that emulates the stars.

You have to capitalise on any success you have and keep doing what you do as well as you can. But how do you define success? In my book, it's to be playing those parts you saw your idols - Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave - playing when they were the age you are now.

There are 320 million American dreams. Go get yours.