Emily Mortimer Quotes

• "51st State was one that I loved doing because the character was so out there, and in a way I was sad to leave the character behind. I'm afraid I could never be that cool in real life!"
• "At the moment, the important thing with every job is that you know why you're doing it, whether it's because it's a big adventure and you love the idea, even if only two people will see it, or because it will make you a lot of money, or just because you know you're going to enjoy it."
• "But I have to grow out of it, because it's very boring, really. Even when you're telling people how crap you are, you're still banging on about yourself."
• "I did my homework and didn't go out much, and had a very highly developed kitsch fantasy life where I dreamed of being a dancing girl."
• "I had friends at school, but I was never part of a gang and I dreamed of that sense of belonging to a group. You know, where people would call me 'Em' and shout across the bar, 'Em, what are you drinking?' after the show."
• "I never felt I was quite the ticket academically. I always felt I had to put in an enormous amount of effort not to be disappointing. So I worked really hard, but at the time it suited me, because I didn't do very much else."
• "I think I came across as a bit prim and naive. I remember one boy said to a friend of mine at school, 'If Emily Mortimer saw my prick, she'd faint.' I've never forgotten that."
• "I think we probably will end up in America because he would be giving up much more to come and live here. If you want to work in film, that's really where you have to be. But I'm not sure that being an ex-pat is very good for one's sense of self."
• "I was afraid that I'd be made to feel foolish for taking it seriously, because I wasn't really good enough. Then I realised that if I didn't take it seriously, I never would be any good. But the column was a sort of antidote because I could continue to take the piss out of myself in this fictional way."
• "I was obsessed with Torvill and Dean, and Summertime Special - I think that's where the desire to perform came from. But it was also because I imagined a sort of camaraderie that must exist in the theatre, when you're all backstage putting on make-up. That was something I'd never had."
• "I was terribly shy when I was growing up, I really wasn't confident with other people and I think I was always afraid of up or not being this very cool, amazing person that I wanted to be."
• "My dad had this philosophy that if you tell children they're beautiful and wonderful then they believe it, and they will be. So I never thought I was unattractive. But I was never one of the girls at school who had lots of boyfriends."
• "So far I haven't really been prominent enough to get critical attention focused on me. So, of course, I fully expect bad reviews, but I will be wracked with misery as a result."
• "So what I do now is to pre-empt that by making the up into a virtue, and telling funny stories about how crap I am before people have a chance to notice it for themselves and think maybe I haven't realised."
• "The odd thing is if you asked me to do the accent now I would find it very difficult unless I was also playing that part, because I associate it so much with entering into the role and stepping into someone else's shoes."