Ben Mendelsohn Quotes

First love is such a big thing growing up.

I think there's a level of ignorance, when, in the callowness of youth, you imagine that you are inventing the world for the first time. You imagine that your parents don't know what it feels like to fall in love.

When you are in your teenage years you are consciously experiencing everything for the first time, so adolescent stories are all beginnings. There are never any endings.

When I first started drawing the earliest incarnation of 'Optic Nerve,' I hadn't even been on a date; I hadn't had a romantic relationship of any kind yet, so in a way, I was almost writing science fiction.

I am a sucker for that childhood romance narrative.

When we grow up, we tend to forget our first crush, first love, as we move along. Only when you see something on TV or hear someone say something do you go back to those moments.

I love telling teen stories where the characters are experiencing things for the first time - the stakes feel really high.

I think I draw most inspiration from writers like Richelle Mead and filmmakers like John Hughes. They both really understand the experience of being a teenager and how insistent and intense everything feels, but they're also smart, savvy, and fun.

I love so many different genres. I love crime films - and unusual coming-of-age pieces.

I find the subject of childhood fascinating. I explored this subject in Speak to me of love and I am curious about portraying the often painful transition into the adult world.

You never forget the discovery years. First kisses. The first time you try certain foods.

Although I sometimes enjoy writing from an adult's perspective, I feel dedicated to the coming of age story - that part of a young person's life where he must make a decision that will change his life forever. I still remember what it's like to be twelve years old.

I have always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters.

I was 13 and at summer camp when I had my first kiss.

We can all agree that first loves can be a scary thing, and that growing up is hard to do.

I did a film when I was about 30; it's a coming of age story called 'Gas Food Lodging,' and I'm so proud of that little independent film. I play this young English geologist, and he's such a simple, loving kind of guy. Doesn't talk too much. He's just a quiet guy, and he gets the girl.

First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.

I love coming of age stories that have struggle.

I really like coming-of-age dramas. It's probably the most intense period in anyone's life, those years before you become an adult. Dramatically, there's so much to explore there. And it's nice to be around young talent coming through.

My first proper kiss was from Cara Shucksmith when I was 13 or 14 at her birthday party.

I think a handful of the roles that I've gotten to play are characters whom I've lived that are like younger versions of me but who are maybe more naive and a little bit wilder than when I was. And I've gotten to play 16 and 17 when I was a little bit older, so I got to pull from experience.

I tend to go for these half-little-boy characters.

'I Met You When I Was 18' is a collection of songs, a story about moving to New York City when I was 18 and falling in love for the first time. A story about trying to figure out your own identity whilst being deeply intertwined with someone else's.

I loved everything about being ten, eleven, and twelve years old, and seem to make most of my heroines and heroes that age so I can reexperience all those pitfalls and wonderful discoveries. It helps me to figure out my own life when I write from that eleven year old place!

First and foremost, 'Call Me by Your Name' is a story about love, and first loves, and unrequited, and then, later, requited love.