But I think it's a little different in Europe, because 40 is really the best age for a woman. That's when we hit our peak and become this ripe fruit.
But I've never felt that being an actress is being in a comfortable place. It's seen from the outside that we're being driven in big cars and having these gorgeous suites and all of that. But come on, it's not about that.
But, you know, when I choose a film I need to believe in it and believe I can do something special with it, and after a while that means not trying to judge or analyze why I should do it. You have to follow this intuition thing, which is a mystery to me.
Choosing to be in the theatre was a way to put my roots down somewhere with other people. It was a way to choose a new family.
Each new film is like a trial. Before I step in front of the camera, I do not know whether I am going to fall or whether I am going to fly - and that is exactly the way I want it to stay.
I believe that being an actress or being involved in a movie has to be a life experience, otherwise why go for it? I have to change me, and I have to learn things, and I have to push me and my limits. By acting, I find a freedom inside of a prison in a way.
I like travelling and if I have to come to Hollywood to make a movie I will, but otherwise I'd never move there. It's very much an industry town and that doesn't really interest me.
I never felt being an actor or making a movie was an easy thing to do.
I sometimes feel like I could do another job. Anything. Maybe because as an actress you're playing different characters, everything feels possible.
I think acting is about forgetting yourself in order to give the best of yourself. It's passing through you more than you're creating it. You're not the flower, but the vase which holds the flower.
I think I am pretty much melancholic.
I was so happy when they cast me in Chocolat, because it's one of my vices.
I won't do something just for the sake of working.
I would say I'm humanly engaged.
It's never been my purpose to become an American icon, or more famous or richer.
Maybe it's because my mother divorced and my grandmother divorced, so maybe I'm frightened deep down. But then I also feel there is no real need. Why do I need to get married? To reassure me? No I don't need reassurance.
People think actors have such glamorous lives, but the truth is actors go where nobody wants to go.
What makes a person sexy is when he's not trying to be sexy.
You must understand, I don't have to be happy to be happy.
I want to make films that are political and social. Films with a message or an idea. Films that dare to ask.
