Quotes

No more bare bodies in film scenes for me. For my children's sake, I must stop. The other kids at school keep throwing it up to my children, and they are not kind.

It's difficult to be married outside the profession. A lawyer might not understand that going to bed with Gabriel Byrne for three days is work for me. [1987]

[on her second marriage] What the hell was I thinking? Marry a rich guy? Was I crazy? I didn't need that. I was already at the party. I didn't need someone to get me through the door. How could I be so clueless about who I am and what I value? Did I actually think I was going to give up working? It's important for me to work. [Parade Magazine, May 13, 2007]

A successful marriage isn't necessarily one that lasts until you're dead. [Parade Magazine, May 13, 2007]

[on becoming a young actress in the 2000s] Their careers are over in a blink. So I think it's harder for them to feel motivated to exhibit a real professionalism because they must wonder how long they are really going to be around for. It's really bad. There are exceptions obviously. There's no slow build anymore where you get a little part, then you get a little better part, then a better part until one day your agent calls you us and says "Guess what? You're a movie star!" and you say "Thank you!"

I'd rather just be stuck at home watching Turner Classic Movies. I'm stuck with a book and old movies, that's pretty much the beginning and end of my life.

[on working with Paul Newman] You forget he's Paul Newman on the set after a while... that is until you look into his eyes.

It's difficult to get into trouble if you don't take yourself too seriously.

[In a 1984 interview concerning her career] It's like having been brought up in the best neighborhood and having been to the best schools. It's kind of nice to be 29 and have people refer to you as a character actor.

[commenting on #MeToo] My hard won advice: never get into an elevator alone with Terry Gilliam. [Twitter, March 17, 2018]

[commenting on Terry Gilliam's critique of #MeToo in Variety] Ever wonder why Terry Gilliam is giving all these random vitriolic interviews about #metoo? Honest question. Click bait, I understand but even the most superficial level of due diligence would have revealed Gilliam's reputation. #MeToo [Twitter, March 17, 2018]

[on shooting Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and working with Terry Gilliam] (Laughs) I don't know why everyone talks to me about that movie. I'm in it for five seconds. I went down there to do the one real scene as the waitress at the North Star Café. And then Terry decided it would be fun, since I'm in disguise with a wig and a fake ass and hips-my whole body was padded-to keep disguising me and insert me in, I think, two or three other scenes. (...) One time, I was in a club that they were all in, and I had some fringed, revealing outfit on, very scantily clad. Then I was part of their check-in scene, where I was dressed up as some Middle America lady. But it was fascinating to watch Terry, who I have loved and adored. So I was happy that he just kept saying, "Don't go home." I think he liked having me there, and he knew that I liked being there. So he'd just say, "Can you stay, and be in the nightclub scene, and we'll disguise you again?" And I would say, "Sure." (...) He's fascinating to watch. It's an interesting combination, because he has storyboards, if I remember correctly, so he's got it pretty much planned out, but it's so loose that he just goes with whatever's happening on the set. So it's a kind of perfect combination of a director who knows exactly what he wants out of the scene and how he wants to shoot it, and then will be willing to turn that around 180 degrees if one actor does one interesting thing that catches his eye. And he was very open to the kind of quirky improvisation of Benicio [Benicio Del Toro] and Johnny Depp. [from A.V. Club, March 14, 2015]

[on Down by Law (1986)] I think it took a couple of days to shoot that scene. There is a gentle guiding hand that Jim Jarmusch has that I don't think I've ever experienced before or after. It's very inclusive of you as an artist and what you bring to the table. He's extremely supportive; you feel very protected and very appreciated. And then on top of that all, I had something I've also never had before or after, which was a very strong verbal relationship with Robby Müller, the DP. He would say things like, "Okay, I'm going to be very close," and then he'd walk away. And he knew what that meant to me, that then maybe I don't have to be as big, you know? It could be a tiny little performance. Or he'd say, "I'm going to shoot this scene very dark; I might be on your back a lot of the time." And then I'd know to amp it up a few notches. To me, Robby Müller is a genius of geniuses. And he really works with actors. It's not just him whispering in a corner with Jim Jarmusch. They are both very inclusive of the actors, and it's almost like you're just all part of the same orchestra playing the same symphony together. [2015]