60 Quotes by Imelda Staunton

I don’t feel the need for religion. But I went on a yoga retreat last year and I do believe slightly in the karma thing and just being good and true unto yourself. And I slightly believe that you can attract good and bad to you.

If you’re at an award ceremony, you’re against your mates.

I’ve always liked new writing.

At the time of Woodstock, I was just 13, but I used to see these exotic hippy creatures and I did look on with envy. How could you not? In an ideal world, I would have loved to have been a hippy – but I might have been a bit strait-laced. It was my fantasy.

Having a child makes you strong and gives you chutzpah. It relaxed my attitude to the job; my center of focus shifted, which I think is very helpful, because even if you’re not a very indulgent actor you spend a lot of time thinking about yourself. I don’t think that is particularly healthy.

Look at Judi Dench, who’s brilliant in whatever bloody job she does.

I adore Bette Davis and Vivien Leigh, but more because they were good actresses. That’s what makes me interested in them, that they didn’t present themselves as idols, they were just doing their jobs.

Fortunately my career has never been about how I look, it’s about how I can be.

The one good thing is that I get a lot more good scripts coming through my letterbox. ‘Vera Drake’ raised my profile in one way, and then ‘Harry Potter’ in another.