Quotes by Amy Irving

Actors are not a great breed of people, I don't think. I count myself as something of an exception. I grew up in the theater, and my values were about the work, and not being a star or anything like that. I'm not spoiled in that way, and if I fight for something, it's about the work, not about how big my trailer is.

And you know, the baby boomers are getting older, and those off the rack clothes are just not fitting right any longer, and so, tailor-made suits are coming back into fashion.

At home with Bruno, there is a lot of head banging. We've been together 11 years, and I think we're just now figuring out how to cohabitate. It has taken a long time, I mean it's different cultures. His mother raised him one way, and my mother raised me one way, and we are both right. But there are certain things that I have made him adapt to, and certain things that I have taken from his culture that I like.

Brazilians need to work on their own national pride. I always think that they suffer from national low-self esteem. It's a lesser-developed country, and they have struggled so much. Sometimes they have an attitude that, if it's Brazilian, it can't be good.

I thought that my movie career was finished. I was quite happy to dedicate myself 100% to the theater. Surprisingly enough, I've never gotten so many work offers. It's so exciting, this feeling of a new beginning after 40.

I used to travel in tennis shoes; I am just not allowed to anymore. I'm an old hippie from San Francisco.

I will argue my points; I will have my opinions. But at the end of the day, it's the director's choice.

I'm not very good when people work out of friction... tension. Shouters. Even it's not at me, but just around me - if I get tense, my creative juices don't flow as freely. I really like kindness. I also don't work well with directors that smoke cigars.

In the U.S., with very few exceptions, actresses older than 35 are simply discarded.

Theater actors know what their motivation is for each scene. They treat it very seriously as a craft. You do your homework. The reason I always need to go back to theater is the most stimulating moments are in rehearsal... whereas often in film, you've go to do it on your own.

There is a sort of creative purity in an independent film, in the passion of the director, the passion of the crew. They're not getting a whole lot of money, so you know they are not there because they want to get rich. Instead, they are there because they want to make a movie. In the bigger films, I remember when I used to do those, it's just a job for a lot of people, so there is less of an intense energy devoted to the whole project.

When my career first began, I didn't have children - so there's a whole lot of difference in the way I choose roles now. Not just films for my children, but how long I'm going to be away, and is Dad going to be home while I'm gone. That sort-of factor plays a part.

You walk off the plane in Rio, and your blood temperature goes up. The feel of the wind on your face, the water on your skin, the taste of the food, the music, the sexuality; Brazilians are very comfortable in their sexuality.