Sarah Paulson Quotes

I really have to feel that I could make a difference in the movie, or I shouldn't be doing it.

There are all kinds of other things I could do, things I would probably like, but only acting would give me emotional fulfillment.

It is not in life, but in art that self-fulfillment is to be found.

I've learned to take jobs as an actress that is meaningful to me because I've never taken a job for the money.

I have a very clear picture of what I want to do and what I feel is important as far as my contribution or my appreciation and respect for this life that we're living, and to try to make it better. I can't feel that I'm making it better playing commercial music, and I never could, and I never will.

I think in more ways than one 'Uyir' did a lot good, getting the scope to perform. Things have really fallen in place since then. Breaking free of the shackles has given me the rich option to choose and pick from the range of characters coming my way.

My first love is acting, but the reality is that I just don't get too many opportunities to stretch, and grow, and inspire myself as an actor, certainly not in terms of where I make money. Yeah, I can go off and do a play, but the reality is as a profession, directing is exponentially more satisfying.

Play music that means something to you. Make it happen for yourself.

I'd like to think that what I've written over the years and what I'm doing now means something to people. People in the street all the time are saying "love the new record" or "I love that record," this tune or that tune. It means an awful lot, or it's been a big part of their lives. As a songwriter, what else would you really want? You're trying to connect with people, people's emotions, and maybe say something about their lives or feelings. That's probably a good enough compliment to receive, really.

This has been my life for many years; one role feeds the other. It is a joy to be an artist, but it doesn't mean very much unless that work is somehow useful in some way and contributes to others.

Over the years I've grown to love the industry, my job, and the profession itself. It's been a journey full of ups and downs. For the first few years, it was a journey of self discovery where I grew to love acting while acting.

I could have never had any kind of creative freedom on TV, so then I did movies! Now, I am able to do all kinds of entertainment... and that, I feel, is the biggest blessing!

My conscious decision has always been to do work that's meaningful and play characters that give something to the film.

I want to do something that is meaningful. After working for all these years, I want to do better as an actor now and choose roles that are challenging and satisfying.

I can't see myself doing anything else. I feel like I can touch more people with music.

When you start to think of the arts as not this thing that is going to get you somewhere in terms of becoming an artist or becoming famous or whatever it is that people do, but rather a way of making being in the world not just bearable, but fascinating, then it starts to get interesting again.

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

I've got to work with people who have had really fantastic careers and who are still lovely people to be around. So, I suppose that's kind of a big inspiration for me - to work for as long as possible but to continue to enjoy it. I want to be a part of the process, rather than just wanting the rewards.

The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers -- of persistence, concentration, and insight -- to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems. make art, think deeply.

I don't think it's about art being a career but it's about making sure that if art is something that you love, something that brings you joy, it's about you having a duty to find time in your life for that thing that brings you joy...even if it can only be a small amount.

I was not going to be an actor. I was an engineer in physics. That's what I did: I graduated with a physics degree, and I had become a little bit distressed that I'd have to work for somebody - anybody! And I thought, "I'm not going to make a mark on anything. If I can't express myself, then I don't know what the heck I'm going to do with this life." I think it was just one of those germs that said, "No, no, no, you've got to say things. You've got to tell people things. You've got to express your opinion in this life, because that's how you started."

I think what I love most [about writing] is that feeling that you really nailed something. Sometimes with a line you feel that it really captured what it is that you had inside you and you got it out for a stranger to read, someone who may never love you or meet you, but he or she is going to get that experience from that line.

That is my essential reason for writing, not for fame, not to be celebrated after death, but to heighten and create life all around me. I also write because when I am writing I reach the high moment of fusion sought by the mystics, the poets, the lovers, a sense of communion with the universe.

It's not art for art's sake, it's art for my sake.

I meet a lot of young people that want to go into acting because they think of what it will do for them. If that's the case, it can be a very, very painful profession. But if the kids want to do acting because they love it, and they want to give to it, then they can have a great life. It's really about as simple as how you look at it.