Hilary Swank Quotes

I'm scared of rehearsals, I'm scared of doing all this because I don't feel like I'm an actress.

I feel like my consignment and fear from people pushed me to become a performer.

Almost every actor goes into almost every picture very frightened. He is positive he really can't do it. The bigger the star, the more frightened he is.

It's the scariest thing in the world, going to acting class, because first of all, there's a lot of pressure. I just go back to being that fourth grader who couldn't, like, sit still in her seat.

I lack confidence as an actor.

I have fear, always, on the set. Insecurity to the point where the first week I always think I could be fired. I think that's a fear most actors have.

I was kind of scared of failing at acting.

The thing that helped me come to terms with performing was an anxiety, a desperation for acceptance. There was never enough positive motivation in my life.

I've always been a bit of a self-doubter. I think a lot of actors are.

I never went to school. I never went to acting school because I was so scared.

As far as I can tell, most actors' main motivation is self-doubt and neuroses.

The hardest role that I've ever tried to play was Clara Johnson in 'Light in the Piazza' at Lincoln Center. It was the least fun I've ever had, but the most beautiful experience I've ever had. I could not understand her. I could not put my feet in her shoes. I came home every night, and I was depressed.

Every audition is different, but I get incredibly nervous and insecure and worked up for however long I have to prep - that's when I get to spin. But you're not allowed to spin once you enter the room. Doubt really can't enter the room when you're auditioning - unless it's part of the character.

Some of the greatest actors on the planet are the most insecure people. Now I don't know if that insecurity necessarily equates to a lack of confidence. Some people are just very shy individuals. You give them a character to play and a script, and you put them in front of a camera or on a stage, and they just go.

I'm not a natural born performer.

There's one thing now that I experience every day when I'm making a film. I get up and think to myself, 'Am I going to be able to do it today?' I figure as long as I have that fear, I'll be alright.

The biggest enemy of any actor is fear.

Insecurity is very common among actors. When I started giving interviews and talking to people that I didn't know, it was a nightmare. I've learned how to deal with interviews and insecurity; I've gotten used to it.

It's always a long process of trying to suppress the self-doubt on set when you're acting.

One of the reasons that I needed to become an actor was that I didn't have any self-confidence.

I always imitated other people and thought, 'Well, maybe I'll do standup,' but I was too afraid for that.

Every once a week, I get up and feel that I cannot act any more. I just get very unsure of myself. But, once I give my first shot, I'm back on track. Insecurity isn't bad, it makes me work harder.

I can't really explain the feeling of acting. It makes you the most insecure you can possibly be.

I've had some ambivalent feelings about being an actor. I don't know that I've ever been totally and completely comfortable with it.

There are several times when I walked into a room and just felt like such a sham. That's the problem with auditioning.