Sigourney Weaver quotes: on being awkwardly tall, going to Yale, the movie that changed everything for her, and more.
“Why don’t you just do what you want to do?”
“Determination is a nice word.”
“Career-wise, involve a mix of persistence and trusting in fate. You have to believe that the universe is going to help you.”
“You have to throw yourself off the cliff and just jump into it sometimes. Life is really like that more often than not. You never know what’s going to happen next.”
“Fly by the seat of your pants. And don’t worry about failure. It’s a stepping stone and teaches you a great many things.”
“Don’t depend on other people’s encouragement. It’s never enough and never when you need it.”
“Never burn bridges. Today’s junior jerk, tomorrow’s senior partner.”
“When you hit your stride, and you feel confident in what you’re doing and in your process, you really want to do more and try lots of different things. I’ve also really worked on my breathing, which is a funny thing to talk about. I think breathing is actually the key to a lot of opening up of other parts of yourself that you haven’t used, for any job.”
“Every role sort of teaches you how to prepare for it. I think that every piece has its challenges.”
“It is one proof of a good education and of true refinement of feeling, to respect antiquity.”
“It won’t be long before the Facebook generation will be rejected by the non-Facebook people who will be rejected by the post-Facebook people. Everyone will be on their own planet.”
“Find a connection. Live in the moment.”
“Allow for a little chaos.”
“Don’t tolerate lies.”
“Be kind. You never know what kind of day people are having so keep your antennae up.”
“We’re still trying to recover from whatever happened in high school, whether it was good or bad. It’s either a great base, or it’s still something we’re trying to overcome.”
“I had such great teachers in high school who made me feel like I could do anything. Then to go to Yale, where these drama teachers made me feel like sh*t? If I have any advice for young people, it would be don’t listen to teachers who say, ‘You’re really not good enough.’ Just teach me. Don’t tell me if you think I’m good enough or not. I didn’t ask you. Teachers who do that should be fired.”
“Just go out for a few drinks and say, ‘F*ck them!'”
“I never thought I’d be an actress. It was my height. At age 11, I was already 5-foot-10½, self-consciously towering over my mom. I felt like a giant spider. I never had the confidence to ever think I could act.”
“My mother always said that I might not enjoy my height now, but someday I’ll be glad. She was right.”
“I considered becoming a teacher or journalist. I graduated from Stanford with an English degree, then earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at Yale University School of Drama.”
“When I was in college, I did sort of want to be a journalist. Being an actor, you kind of have the same interest. You go into a story, and you tell it from your point of view for people who aren’t there. That’s what an actor does with a character. But the real life is much more interesting.”
“My friends started hiring me in New York for their plays, but it took me about two years to realize I could say I was an actress and I could actually make a living, much to my parents’ surprise.”
“Ghostbusters changed my life.”
“Acting as a career is a long-term thing and that work is kind of progressive and you can build on a career.”
“It’s a great job, because you work all over the world, you meet people from all over the world, and I do believe that what we do, being storytellers, is of service to people.”
“When you’re young, there’s so much that you can’t take in. It’s pouring over you like a waterfall. When you’re older, it’s less intense, but you’re able to reach out and drink it. I love being older.”
“I used to be terribly shy, so I was either shy or over the top, and I always had a difficult time.”
“I feel self-doubt whether I’m doing something hard or easy.”
“I’m a natural golden retriever at heart. I’m fine with that now, but there was a time when I tried to keep myself from jumping up on people. I had to make myself sit.”
“I love working quickly. I can do five things at once. I’m tapping my foot, I’m opening my mouth and talking to you, and looking at the bulletin board. How about that? I consider myself very much a team player.”
“Anyone who works with me knows that I’m totally up for anything.”
“I enjoy working with younger people because I learn so much from them. And I like to bring in my own ways of doing things. I’m always on time. It’s important for older actors to show you’re always prepared.”
“Learn to say no. A good friend taught me the virtue of the word; it stops you from feeling like you are a hamster in a wheel. Make time for the things that really matter, like family.”
“Here’s a vice: I say yes to too many things. I wish I had the guilty pleasure of saying no. My goal is to try to do less, but more fully.”
“I worked hard and made my own way, just as my father had. And just, I’m sure, as he hoped I would. I learned, from observing him, the satisfaction that comes from striving and seeing a dream fulfilled.”
“I’m very happy with the opportunities I’ve had. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to jump around.”
“I really have been lucky. The other day I was thinking, ‘Wow, you’ve really managed to accomplish a lot of the goals you’ve set for yourself as an actor.’ So now it’s time to sit down and make up some new ones.”
“Please, God, please, don’t let me be normal!”
“A person’s body is his temple.”
“Eat well. It’s given me a different energy and cleared any mental fuzziness.”
“Get outside.”
“Working in this business makes me stay fit. Stamina is probably one of the most important things to have.”
“If one is married for a long time, and one does have a family, I feel it’s so incredibly nurturing for women in their careers, because you never lose track of what’s important. It is like an energy, a wonderful fire that never goes out underneath you, to help you go out into the world and do your damnedest.”
“It’s rare when you have everything going perfectly all at the same time.”
“Most of life is hell. It’s filled with failure and loss. People disappoint you. Dreams don’t work out. Hearts get broken. Innocent journalists die. And the best moments of life, when everything comes together, are few and fleeting. But you’ll never get to the next great moment if you don’t keep going. So that’s what I do. I keep going.”
Related: Bill Murray quotes.
