Julie Christie Quotes

My problem with being an actor was that I was far too shy to actually do it.

I grew up craving the spotlight, and once it happened, I immediately recoiled.

I'm in a difficult position in the sense that, preposterous as this might sound, I don't like being the centre of attention. I get up on stage every night and play songs, but I almost feel the songs are the centre of attention. I don't like opening my birthday presents in front of people, either.

I'm an introvert at heart... And show business - even though I've loved it so much - has always been hard for me.

I'm not a very gregarious person. I can't bear attention being called to me in a public place, which is ridiculous in a business that pays you to be noticed.

The only thing I can do is act, but it's not something I even feel comfortable doing. It costs me a lot, because I'm a shy person, even if I don't look it.

I don't really like to audition, and that works against me. It's bad to be an actor and not like to audition.

I think fear is one of the natural states of most actors, to be honest.

I am not one of those actresses who loves acting.

I find it difficult to explain, but I'm quite ashamed of being an actress.

It's hard for me to even watch comedies I'm in.

The first time I went out under the spotlight, I was proper freaked out.

I am honestly very intimidated when I meet new people and they expect me to be the onscreen Vir. On stage, I say a lot of things I might never say in real life; I am never the life of the party. People are quite surprised to see that I am more of a quiet artiste off stage.

It was very natural for me to want to disappear into dark theater, I am really very shy. That is something that people never seem to fully grasp because, when you are an actor, you are meant to be an exhibitionist.

It's very difficult for me to speak about being an actor.

I continue to be very shy. I think a lot of actors and performers are really weird, shy people working it out onstage. I don't know why that is.

I've never been onstage in my life.

I was really awful at auditions. There's something about sitting down and saying into the camera: 'I'm Nina and this is the name of my agent.' That makes me just die inside.

I'm a pretty cliche actor in that I hate watching myself on film.

I secretly nurtured the idea of being in show business but was always terrified of it. I had every fear you could possibly imagine associated with performing.

I find it hard to be joyful on screen because I'm so tense.

The hardest pill for me to swallow has been receiving recognition, getting dressed up, going to events. That's the part that has always terrified me. You can see dozens of photos where I have zero hair and makeup and I'm wearing my own jeans and T-shirt, because I was not that interested in that side of it.

I hate hearing me talk when I'm not in character, and I can barely deal with hearing me as a character.

When I am in front of the camera or on stage, I am not me.

In my fantasies, I always wanted to play the ingenue, but in reality, in my bones, I am so used to playing the grandmother that I don't feel safe or even sure that I can do it.