When a director can give you a word that allows you to feel less tense about yourself, to make you feel like you indeed are good enough before you even get to the work, you can't ask for anything more than that.
I worked myself into a frenzy. By 1996, I had a nervous breakdown just from working. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, just getting anxiety attacks and all of that stuff because I was doing too much, too young, all the time.
At first, when you go to premieres and award shows, you're thinking, 'How the hell am I here? All these people I've never met are here, and it's so cool!' And then, as time goes on, it's a little bit like, 'Ah... it's more like work.'
When I was at Kingsoft, I was under pressure and worked hard, but the results were not satisfactory.
Sleeping is forbidden at the age of 22. It's all work and no play.
The moment you've brought a toothbrush to work, then you're getting into crunch time.
First, the media blames us stars for not doing more films. But when we are shooting, you want us to take a break. Not fair!
Personally, I don't take holidays; I go on trips. My idea of relaxing is taking a trip that isn't commissioned. I'll work just as hard, but without that nagging pressure of fulfilling a commission. Now that's what I call a holiday.
There's a big difference between wanting to work and having to work. And I had to learn that the hard way. Now money is very important to me, because I ain't got it.
It's hard to balance work and family.
I've become more relaxed. When I was younger, I had more erratic, nervous tension when I was working.
In People magazine, Madonna said her life has been exhausting since she started her world tour. She said there isn't a second of her life that isn't taken up looking after her family or thinking of her show - her day is filled with problems of work and family. Someone should tell her, everyone else calls that, life.
I don't feel prolific. I feel like I'm plodding along. Each day you sit down, and you hope that you get your work done.
The pressures of being an MP mean free time is a very rare luxury.
People work so hard, and I want to keep that energy up, and you can spread that if you're the actor. But I'm also not able to turn it on and off like a faucet. A lot of what I'm called upon to play is violent or angry. When I'm messing around with the crew and making jokes, I remember, 'Oh, this is the guy I normally am.'
I think, a lot of times in a big city, you're working even when you're not.
I have a lot of ideas and I want to be able to work. To me, it's like one of these contests where you get five minutes in a supermarket to take anything off the shelves you want and try to fill your cart up as much as you can. That's the way I look at my work.
Working at the White House is a great privilege, but I know it is also often a burden on you, and on the family and friends to whom you turn for support. That has meant long days, late nights, and many weekends here.
When I am working, I have two shows on Saturday, and when I wake up, and it's a lovely day, I just cry. I'm joking: I love my job.
If all I did was answer the correspondence I get, that would be my job.
I'm nicer on tax day than I am when I'm on deadline.
Today the problem that has no name is how to juggle work, love, home and children.
There are women who literally squeeze a baby out of their bodies or get cut open in major surgery, have a human being, the next generation of the human race pulled from their bodies, and within a couple of weeks have to go back to work, because if they don't, they can't pay their bills. Something's wrong with that.
No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you’d be more productive.
The guy who says, 'I love the challenge of managing,' is one step from being out of a job.
