Christine Baranski Quotes

Every single time I step into the studio, I say, 'Can I still do this? Do I still have it? Have I ever had it?' I suppose there's a good amount of self-loathing that goes into any form of artisanship.

I'm my own most merciless critic onstage.

Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.

A lot of times, in the beginning of my career, I put pressure on myself just because I wanted to perform so well. I just wanted to be perfect.

As an actor, you're constantly riddled with self-doubt. You are your own worst critic.

No one leaves the edit room thinking, 'Yeah, I nailed that one!' Everyone I know goes into their first premiere or their first screening thinking, 'I screwed up so bad. I'm sorry, I messed up.' It's just a real common feeling.

Perfectionism attaches to what is valued in the culture.

I don't like to read reviews. Even the good ones you start to analyze: 'Oh, did I do that? I have to make sure I do that again.'

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.

Sometimes, when the material is really good, you put expectations on yourself to make it the best possible show. You're not just serving up the regular hash and doing your job and going home.

Every time you have to come up with a new body of work for a new show, you're aware that people are just ready to rip you apart, they're just waiting for you to fall or make the slightest trip up.

Right through to the end of the last World Cup game, I still couldn't bear the thought of not being perfect or letting people down.

I think that there's the self-imposed pressure to come up with something that's good. For guys like us, that's much more important than any external pressure could really be.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I tell my wife when she's listening to my songs that the slightest hint of whether she likes it or not puts the pressure on me.

When we were doing 'The West Wing,' the hardest thing about doing 'The West Wing' was being compared to yourself. You go out there and want every episode to be as good as your best episode. I wrote 88 episodes of 'The West Wing,' and when you do that, one of them is going to be your 88th best, so your 88th best better be pretty good.

Nobody ever thinks that the work they're going to do could ever be bigger than the one they do before, especially if you're lucky enough like I had to have such a huge thing as 'Phantom' was.

There's something scary about acting always, because basically you do all this work in a vacuum, and then suddenly there's a lot of money spent making a film, and there's suddenly a camera here, going, 'Right? What are you gonna do?'

I feel as much pressure as anyone does about their work, really. You just want to be productive; only difference is that the work is seen and judged by a few more people.

It's often out of my own insecurity. If I'm picky, it's for that reason. I want to be able to bring my best to the table. So if I'm not connecting to something, then I'm not gonna hold up my end of the bargain, and that's really embarrassing.

I struggled with the pressure of having the successful record after the first record. Second album syndrome. I'm living proof; it's very real. It was like a psychological battle to be creative. I used to never feel pressure to be creative; it's always just been a fun thing. And then suddenly it's my job, and people are asking, 'Where's the record?'

I feel a bit scared at times as I feel if I am not convinced about the scene, the audiences won't be either, so I have to give my best.

I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.

I get scared of such love where people come out of the theatre and say, 'This is the best work of Anubav Sinha till date.' I feel the pressure and wonder what will I do next.

I often see only my mistakes. I always feel I could have done better. Every artist goes through it.

During those years with the Iron Maidens, I felt I had to be great and really prove myself at every single show.