I would love to direct one day. I value the relationship that I have with a director so much, and I would be really excited to be on the other end of that relationship.
— Dakota Fanning
I definitely think independent film is very exciting, and you get to sometimes take bigger risks. So that's always a challenge and something that I look forward to.
I think sometimes people can get lost in the bigger special effects, science fiction, robot stuff, and those are cool and fun to watch, too, but I think it's so important to sometimes step back and watch something that's about life and human interaction.
When people say hello to me, I feel like maybe I know them from somewhere, because they say, like, 'Hi! How are you?' And I'm like, 'Oh, hi!' And then I realize, 'Oh, no, they just think they know me because they watched me in a movie.' Which is cool, but definitely not a normal thing.
I think what has helped me is that I've never thought of myself as a child star. If you think of yourself like that, you might have problems!
There's a history where, when women get to a certain age in this industry, the roles become strictly the mother, the wife, or the older single woman. There should be more of a variety because there are so many different paths that humans take, and they should be given a platform to be seen.
I find dates, in general, horrific. We have to sit there and ask these questions and pretend to eat a meal, and it just feels so stiff.
Charlie Sheen gave me a signed headshot. I think it said, 'Keep it real.' But 'real' was spelled 'reel,' like a film reel.
It's hard to remember, when you look at a magazine or when you look at pictures of people, and you forget that those people are people like you. They have flaws and insecurities. That's so easy to forget, even for me, as somebody who's sometimes in those magazines.
Often, when you're on a movie set, you're miserable. It's cold. You're hungry. You're tired. It's still dark out. And yet, there's no place I'd rather be. It's the happiest I am, and the most calm.
Being a known person is pretty much all I've known. I don't remember much of a time when people didn't know who I was.
My parents never talked to me like I was a kid. Maybe that's why I've been seen as mature.
I have a weird vision of relationships because my parents have known each other since second grade, and they got married right out of college.
I played the young Reese Witherspoon in 'Sweet Home Alabama' when I was 7, and the boy who played the young Josh Lucas was 10.
My mom played tennis for, like, six hours a day and went to college on a tennis scholarship, because that was the way she could go to school. So they instilled in me the idea that you have to work hard for the things you want in life and never complain.
I think I really like psychology because my job is all about getting inside another person's mind and thoughts.
I like everything perfect. Everything has to be neat. My sister is 5, and she's more messy than I am. I make my bed every morning, everything's perfect. My shoes are all arranged. It's sad. I'm a little like Ray, a little bit.
As much as movies are about the words that you're saying, they're also about what's not said, the silent moments.
I think that role model is kind of a weird thing because obviously you are, but I try to make good choices and good decisions for myself for me to have a good life. If that inspires someone else, that is great, but I think you should do good for yourself and your own happiness.
Each role that I've played has had a piece of a dream role in it.
I think I am the same kind of person I would have been if I wasn't an actor. I am not a robot.
If you don't love what you are doing, it could be misery.
It's rare to see women in a film who are not somehow validated by a male or discussing a male or heartbroken by a male,or end up being happy because of a male. It's interesting to think about, and it's very true.
Everyone in New York is very self-involved. They're focused on themselves. Like, walking down the street, people are just in their own zone.
I never skimp on TV. I watch an embarrassing amount of TV shows. I don't even know how I do it.
I'm very proud to be a woman - you're part of a tribe. Automatically, you feel connected to another woman when you meet them. That's really special.
Someone once said about me that I talk to everyone the same, no matter what age they are. I don't see kids and adults. I see everyone the same.
I think my generation is obsessed with instant gratification. We want everything now, now, now.
I don't throw my clothes out after one wear. Shocking, I know.
If I see a movie on TV that I'm in, I usually will watch it for that reason: It's like I'm watching another person.
I love the feeling I get when I'm on a set; I love reading the scripts, playing the characters, getting to be someone else.
I love who I am and I love my life, but if I could be someone else, I'd be Beyonce in two seconds.
Acting is what I love to do. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I don't think of it as work. It's really fun for me.
My favorite actresses are Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts and Julie Andrews.
I think you learn something from everybody that you've worked with. I really learned how to behave on set through the people that I worked with, like the importance of being on time and the importance of being professional. I don't bring my cell phone on set; I leave it in my trailer.
I'm kind of a self-aware and confident person.
In New York, you walk everywhere, so you're amongst people all of the time, and everybody is in a hurry and going somewhere or has something on their minds. And in L.A., it's still much more of a laid-back life, at least in my experience.
There is a lot of negativity that you welcome into your life when you're an actor. You bare your soul for anyone to see.
When I'm working, even though it's sometimes challenging and difficult, there's still no place I would rather be.
We can't continue to take from our planet the way we do and not give anything back, and the idea of, 'Oh, but it's fine, I won't have to deal with it in my lifetime,' well, you need to think about the future generations who will have to deal with it.
I was raised by very traditional Southern parents with Southern manners. You don't air your dirty laundry to people that aren't your family or your friends. Why would I ever want to portray myself as anything other than together?
I'm the girl that's on the beach with a hat on, under an umbrella. Like, very shaded. But my weird thing is, I only tan my legs. My whole body's covered in the shade, and I tan my legs.
I don't know whether it's audiences or filmmakers who want characters to be likable today, but I don't think actors are afraid of their characters being unlikable.
I know how to hit a mark without looking. I instinctively know where my eye line should be. That's all 100%. But your character and the story are always different, so the emotional part is not muscle memory. You're still surprised by stuff and get the adrenaline.
I was being groomed to be a tennis player for sure. My grandparents and parents realised I had a natural athletic ability and if I was forced to do it, I could probably do well. But all I wanted was to play pretend.
I always talk about my characters like they're real people.
I was always into fashion because my mom has always been interested in fashion. She majored in fashion merchandising in college, and it's always been something we have in common.
It's something that's always been there for me, that I have huge blue eyes - it's been something that people have always talked about.
I think I was a Japanese schoolgirl in another life. That's how much I love Hello Kitty.
I've been very lucky enough to do all kinds of movies. All the movies that I've done have been very different, and all the characters I've done have been very different. I feel very lucky to have been able to do the movies that I've done.
