122 Quotes by Maggie Gyllenhaal

Simple black-and-white thinking or action is always going to be problematic.

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.

Therapy was incredibly enlightening. I don't think it's only necessary if you're unwell - it's a useful tool for me to understand my own mind and how it works.

I'm not interested in showing the wish of what it looks like to be human. I'm interested in showing what it actually looks like.

The older I get, the more vulnerable I get. But the part of me that resists that, that is stubborn and wants to bulldoze things, gets in my way.

I have a raging temper. I'll shout and scream, then it passes like a wicked storm.

I don't think I'm a brilliant writer, but I'm a good writer, and it's just so empowering to get involved.

So many people are willing to sleepwalk through things and fall into the not human, not interesting choice. To make the really interesting choice, you have to fight.

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.