Meryl Streep Quotes

I tend to be hypercritical of my performances. That's why I hate watching them with people I know.

I get scared of a lot of attention. I get scared of the spotlight. And I'm not talking about on the basketball court.

It's not like I'm nervous of people seeing what I can or can't do on camera or on TV or anything, or what my engineers think.

I get really self-conscious about people staring at me. It sounds so weird. As a performer, as an artist, these should be the things that I'm used to. But that's not the case. When people stare at me, I freak out.

It feels like the more I'm out there in the public eye, the more criticism I get. You need to have confidence - that's what it takes to walk out there and sing a song in front of a huge group of people.

I wanted to be a singer forever. But it's not really my cup of tea. Having the whole world know who you are.

When you are new to the business, you think if you give a really bad performance, that's one they will print. You will be judged. You just have to be brave.

It probably says something really clinically terrible about my character that I need to get up on a stage and go 'Ra ra ra' in front of people.

When I arrived, I felt the spotlight shining brightly on me, and I knew the sharks were ready to strike if I did not pan out and prove myself to be the showman and the player the college ranks had labeled me to be.

I never thought I'd go on a show like 'The X Factor,' simply because I didn't have enough confidence to do something like standing on a stage to have opinions thrown at me.

I have a really difficult time watching myself on film. I literally cower in my seat and cover my face.

When I first began, the technicians, camera and makeup men made me feel so self-conscious that I began to have the biggest inferiority complex about my looks.

I do still get extremely nervous before speeches. My biggest fear is that I'll be standing there in front of hundreds of people and be incapable of talking. I'm afraid that I'll make a complete fool of myself and be unable to go on.

I was afraid I would get the Oscar for 'Irma La Douce' because it was popular. But I didn't want to because I didn't really think it was that good.

Showing your movie to an audience... it's like your kid doing a piano recital. 'Just let it not fail. Please.'

I'm on national TV in front of millions and I hate making mistakes.

I find Washington audiences are basically the same as every other audience; they watch me and go, 'Who's idea was it to go see him? And is it too late to ask for my money back?'

You can take 100 penalties in training, but when you go out on that pitch in front of all those people and the television cameras, it's completely different.

I don't like seeing myself on screen. Whenever I see or hear myself, I think, 'What is that eejet doing now?' I'm in the wrong business. I don't like the limelight.

I have this fear of falling in front of large groups of people. That's why I tend not to wear heels.

I have been a part of stage shows, but yes, I do get cold feet when I think that every move of mine will be under scrutiny!

No matter how much I'm on and people are loving me, there's always some like, and it's usually a woman too, in the audience rolling her eyes, "Oh Wayne, you're embarrassing yourself." There's always someone like that.

I hosted the Producer's Guild Awards, and it went well, and I was very happy in the moment, and it was a fun night. But I wake up the next day like someone who did crack the night before and told off the world, and I'm ashamed of the whole idea that anyone should listen to me, or the idea that I need that much approval.

The truth is that I don't like rehearsals. I get embarrassed hearing my own work. I assume that the cast is embarrassed to sing the stuff.

All I kept thinking about was, "Man, he's so relaxed onstage! I'm never going to be that relaxed! I'm clearly not meant to be in front of the camera. I'm really not meant for anything but behind the camera."