I like a man who can respect a woman. When he's real attentive, I think that is very manly. To respect a woman is divine.
— Lea Seydoux
I love challenge. I love to be afraid before a film, before acting. I think always I want to experience fear. I've become addicted to this feeling.
I found it hard to express myself in the world. I was very shy. I'm still very shy. But also, when I was a child, I could get very... I had this violence... I still get angry. But I don't break things; I'm not hysterical.
I've always felt that Americans are very in the moment. There's not so much melancholia and mystery as there is in France. Everything must be understood. Everything must be analyzed.
This is why I became an actress. So that people will take care of me. To be an actress is a refuge. You are taken everywhere, stay in wonderful hotels, everyone looks after you.
I don't really wear makeup every day. I feel like being an actress - we wear a lot of makeup - but when I am not working, I need to let my face breathe and be very comfortable.
It's true that French are not very sophisticated in the sense that they don't dress up for dinners. They are not like Americans, where they are always perfect - the girls are not very sporty; they don't take care of themselves as much as Americans, who always have very white teeth and are so fit.
Whether you're in a blockbuster or an art film, you have to be able to adapt.
My proudest moment is when I'm part of a good film, when people are touched by it.
If I do too many takes, I'm too self-conscious. I think I'm better in first scenes.
Even in between takes, you emerge yourself. So you don't have a life for six months.
I'm not as beautiful as a model.
I like to learn things from other cultures. I'm curious. It's exciting to be in an unknown world, in a way.
I find it hard to be joyful on screen because I'm so tense.
In America, they are very respectful of your work. People are not judgmental. They like difference - to be different is a force. In France, you have to be like the girl next door.
I think that I'm shy and I judge myself. But at the same time, I also have big contradictions. I can be sometimes sure of myself as well. I'm not always fragile and vulnerable. I can feel tough and strong.
I don't like modernity. I don't have television or the Internet at home. The Internet scares me. I can't drive a car.
I would love to take more risks - have pink hair - but it doesn't look right on me.
Male directors always project their own desire of women - how they want a woman to dress, to do her hair. With a woman director, it's more a projection of herself.
For me, cinema's like a language - everyone has their own form of it.
I don't have any preconceived ideas of myself. I just take things as they come.
In America, you don't have to be weak, you have to be strong.
Actually, I started to become an actress because I met someone who was just a friend and I found his life wonderful, I thought, Oh my god, you can travel, you're free, you can do what you want, you're the boss. And then I met an actor and I was in love with him.
I see society as something dangerous, and you have to save yourself from the rules. I think acting is the way I save myself.
Music was my first love, but it was difficult for me. It's something that I really love, but I didn't feel that I was so good at it. I can sing well, but I'm not a great singer. When I sing, I don't feel I'm expressing all the emotions.
I love being in the States because there's an emphasis on work. People are enthusiastic. They put heart into things.
I see that people now recognize me in the street. But it doesn't change me in the depth of my being.
It's a misogynistic world. It's because of what we ask of actresses. We ask them to be sensitive, fragile, desirable. And men? We ask them to be strong and virile.
There are no nail salons in Paris - it is very expensive to do a manicure. I sometimes get one done.
As an actor, it's up to you to show that you can do something else. For me, the interesting actors don't always go where you expect to find them.
I'm not reading reviews and critics. I don't care. I guess I'm still a little on my own planet.
When a director you admire says that he wants to work with you, it's always a compliment, very good for your ego.
In America it's good to show people you are fine, you're healthy, you're sporty, you're happy to do things, to live. And in France it's more like you don't have to show you have success.
I was putting forward too much of myself when I was singing.
