I get magnetically pulled towards a project because there's something in it that offers me the opportunity to explore the edge of my understanding about myself.

For a long time, I bought into the idea that if you are a woman who is a storyteller and a lover of movies, then the best way to express that is as an actress. Obviously, there are women my age who are directors who didn't buy into that idea, but I did - and now I've broken that down inside myself.

I think it's worth putting energy into affirmative action in terms of having diversity in positions of power because the door was shut for so long.

Maggie Gyllenhaal Quotes