I've been extremely happy and fortunate in terms of what I've achieved and the experiences I've been given.
— Toni Collette
Planning and worrying and chaos in your mind? Forget it. What's the point of that?
I'm a fan of music, some rock music. But I like many types of music. But I suppose a kind of longstanding love of specific bands would be Radiohead, Wilco, Neil Young, Tom Waits, REM.
I just want to find some inner peace, and I think I'm getting there, slowly but surely.
Mothers are so awesome. They do so much. They wear so many hats and have very passionate relationships with their kids, and with life, and I think it's a real balance having your own existence and then being this responsible, kind of loving person in someone else's life or several other people's lives.
After 'Muriel's Wedding,' I first went to America, and I was sent all these scripts about fat girls overcoming hurdles. Something in me knew not to go down that road, even if it was a good script.
I love working. I love it! It makes me feel awake and alive and appreciative, as does my family, but in a different way. If I was told I couldn't do it, I think I would wither and die.
The one thing I want to do - and I am doing - is starting my own production company, for me to produce and direct in the future. Have a bit more say and control - become the storyteller more than just the character. I want to choose the story, plant the seed, and watch it grow. I just want to have a bit more involvement.
'Krampus' had a certain originality about it, so I jumped on board.
When I watch a movie, someone's beauty isn't what engages me: it's what's going on internally. And I imagine it's what the audience thinks, too.
To tell you the truth, my father says I came out of the womb literally singing and dancing, as though there was a spotlight on me. When I ask what I was like when I was little, they just say 'loud.'
I believe the more important thing is your mind and your heart. Those two things are the most ignored parts of our beings.
I think when I was younger, I used to sort of long to be a part of films that were really gritty and hardcore in a way.
I love rides. I'm such an immature person.
I can't imagine a world without music.
I have to say, I feel really lucky. I've had a lot of great characters to play.
I think being the conventional beauty is limiting, so I'm glad I'm not that. If I looked different, I wouldn't have the great opportunities I've had.
I'm not Buddhist, but I am drawn to it because it seems the most beneficial of organised religions and the most compassionate.
I've done a couple of films in Philadelphia, and it's a great, great town.
My face moves, unlike some actors' do. I guess it's kind of a response to what's happening internally.
My 20s were totally bonkers. I was living out of a suitcase and burning the candle at both ends. But I tell you - I am totally over it.
I hate it when the mother is just the mother in movies.
I played a lot of mothers before I even became a mother. It wasn't like I set out to be some sort of mother crusader.
In a lot of films, forever it's been boy-meets-girl, and thank God for films like - I know it's going to sound ridiculous - 'Frozen.' I was so excited for my daughter to be able to watch a love story between two sisters instead of some stupid prince.
I've never had a game plan. It's just if something comes along and it feels right in the moment.
I wouldn't play glamour for glamour.
I find it strange that actors are on the covers of magazines.
I really only take roles that I love and that I have some kind of innate compulsion or need to tell that story. Although it's almost like I have no control over it. It's like they choose me.
I believe in nurturing the inner world.
My plan is to have no plan. If you know what plan you have, life has its own ideas and will take you in any direction it pleases. So my idea about life is to just be open to it and to go with the flow and go with my gut.
I love holidays. It's such a wonderful time for the whole family to be together and not have to worry about schedules and that kind of thing.
Independent films have a certain freedom about them - there isn't so much at stake in terms of money. I think they're more interesting because they're not watered down to appeal to the masses. They tend to have a unique voice.
I hate sitting around labouring over things. I love just getting into it.
I want variety. I want versatility. Otherwise, I'm wasting the opportunity of being an actor, which is all about variation and change.
If I get dressed up, and my boyfriend says, 'You look gorgeous,' I kinda feel funny. I don't know if I'm particularly comfortable with being attractive.
To be able to create a character and tell a story is a crazy way to make a living. I feel so lucky to be able to do this.
If I hadn't had acting, I would probably have imploded.
Meditation is an essential aspect of my life.
I just never want to repeat myself. I also don't want to be bored in life. The great luxury of being an actor is you get to be different people, and I would hate to be repetitive.
I'm starting to realise that there are certain themes that I return to, those being that there is no such thing as normal, and people finding their voice and living authentically. And also that you can be influenced and helped through an extended family.
The potential strength of female friendship and the bonds that can be formed, especially over a lifelong relationship, is very profound.
Oh, I definitely want to direct. I have young children. My job is already big enough, and I imagine it will be even more so as a director, and I don't want to miss out on them growing up. I'm going to wait until they're a bit older before I leap into that seat.
The way a character looks reflects what's on the inside. I can make myself look really bad, and I can make myself look kind of gorgeous. It's not about me; it's about the character.
I think there's an inevitable fact that I somehow absorb part of what I'm doing, because that's what you're constantly thinking about, and that's what's in your veins, and that's what you get up at 4:30 in the morning for and fall into bed after.
The people who are most attractive to me are those who feel most comfortable in their skin - there's a sense of self-acceptance.
I prefer comedies when they come from a dark kind of place and have a reality to it.
Whether it's a movie I'm in or not, if there's a good movie, and it's low budget, and you know everyone's done it just because they were passionate about it and they cared for it, if it has any kind of audience, it's just a wonderful outcome.
I think it's important to relax in general. I don't try to save up my relaxing for one month period of the year; it's kind of a daily practice that I've tried to remain aware of.
I guess in Australia every film is sort of an indie film because there are no studios.
When I look at a character, I never look at the size of the role. I always look at the whole person, no matter how much they're featured in the movie.
