James Nesbitt Quotes

I think midlife crisis is just a point where people's careers have reached some plateau and they have to reflect on their personal relationships.

I had to figure out at 61 years of age: 'Holy moly! Who am I?'

When I was turning 40, I felt that there were no books out there that hit the spot in terms of what I wanted to read.

I always did think that when I turned 40, I'd start coming into my own.

Your children are grown and your career has slowed down - all the stuff that took up so much attention is gone, and you're left with expansive time and space. You have to reimagine who you are and what life is about.

When I was in my 30s, I was at the end of a long-term relationship and going through a very hard time. I'd had about 15 different addresses and a series of relationships. I thought, 'It's time to have a look at yourself.'

I don't feel like a 40-year-old. I feel more like four 10-year-olds, each pulling in a different direction.

Once I turned 40, my whole life changed in the most mature - not boring way but much cooler way. I feel much more like an adult.

I did have a midlife crisis.

I am such a desperate man headed into a midlife crisis.

Midlife is a time of explosive change, particularly for women. It's just like experiencing another puberty. The changes that take place in your body are enormous and, like puberty, you have to throw off the past.

I found my feet in my 40s: got divorced at 40, two years of drinking, and then, at 42, I became sober. My 30s were the most boring phase.

I wanted to write a book about what it's like to be 50 and trying to reinvent yourself - that struggle. There are all these books and inspirational speakers talking about being a lifelong learner, and it's so great to reinvent yourself, the brand of you. And I wanted to say, you know, it's not like that. It's actually really painful.

It's really something for people who are approaching 30 to take a look at what that means to them. I think turning 30 is a chance to re-identify with yourself.

I've had the longest mid-life crisis ever.

You know, let a few years go by until I hit my midlife crisis. Then that can be documented on film.

Life changed at 40 for me, as predicted by my acting teacher when I was leaving college. I became more hirable and more interesting... I'm not sure why.

Sometimes you have to confront your demons and sometimes even let them loose to genuinely find a place where you can gain some understanding.

'Dr. Quinn' came along when I turned 40, so my career actually peaked then.

Only then, approaching my fortieth birthday, I made philosophy my life's work.

A lot of middle-aged women are children still trying to find their way.

I think I had a kind of pause for insight in my 20s when I wasn't in a relationship and my career wasn't going the way I wanted it to go. I had time for reflection then.

My life has changed. I'm not walking around any more wishing I wasn't me, which was the case at one time.

I would stay in my room for days, for days at times, just trying to get it together, to know what my next phase was going to be.

Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.