Mary Steenburgen Quotes

Even if I'm playing a bad guy, I work hard to make him multi-leveled and interesting.

We're not one thing, as human beings, so any character that is written uni-dimensional, that's just a shallow character with shallow writing and shallow acting.

Whatever you're going through in your life, don't ever give up.

Everything's the same; I'm living with cancer and it's not going to stop me. But until you really test yourself and challenge yourself, I don't think you quite know.

I didn't go out looking for negative characters; I went out looking for people who have a struggle and a fight to tackle. That's what interests me.

A lot of the characters I end up playing have a certain degree of glamour or sexiness, but I like it when you can have some other element that makes it much more interesting.

I'm often drawn to characters that are more obviously one thing. They're passionate, and there is always an element of strength because I think every person possesses that in some way, even if they've experienced hardship in their lives.

I get a lot of people saying to me, 'Oh, you're the actor who plays the nutters,' and I'm not. I'm the guy who plays human beings. I understand why the characters are doing what they're doing. When you play a villain, you don't play a villain: you play a human being doing what he thinks he needs to do to get what he wants.

I like to play a strong woman, but a strong woman can also be very fragile and vulnerable at the same time.

I want people to use my story to stand up, be strong-willed and persevere.

I like to play non-cardboard characters. I try and bring out the many complex layers in the personality of the characters I play.

People have been calling me names and setting me back my whole life. And with every fight it's just given me more fuel to my fire and in doing so I've become a success.

There is a lot more to me than just being a crazy fighter.

In 'Raabta' I've two personalities to project, and yes, there are distinct shades of grey.

I'm a fighter - I learned this as a child.

You will face many defeats in your life, but never let yourself be defeated.

For once in your life, here's your miracle, stand up and fight.

I am a survivor and not a victim. Life isn't perfect. When you get a knock, you have to get up, dust yourself down and get on with it.

Life hits you hard. But it takes you three seconds to decide if you are a superhero or not. I am.

Since I was a little girl, I have witnessed the strength and courage that energized my mother, who left every sorrow and pain in the past, who would work unyieldingly to obtain her goals, who was the great warrior from whom I learned all the values that are today fundamental pillars of my every day.

Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where you backbone ought to be.

The one thing I learned the most about acting is it takes a tremendous amount of courage to go there and stand still. It takes courage and guts to step out of your mind frame and depict something.

The thing about Green Lantern rings is they pick whoever has potential to overcome great fear.

An injured lion still wants to roar.

I love the powerful woman who's complicated. There's no push to be one thing or another thing. It's all human. That's what you look for as an actor: characters written and portrayed in the most human way possible.