Edie Falco Quotes

Obviously, it wasn't meant for me to die of cancer at 40. Every day my life surprises me, just like my cancer diagnosis surprised me. But you roll with it. That's our job as humans.

The common misconception is that as an actress you have to learn what you're doing. No, you just have to make the audience think you've learned it.

I'm an old-school, embarrassing Joni Mitchell fan. Her music made a hook in my soul and hasn't let go for all these years. I even sing her songs as lullabies to my kids.

Addiction has had such an impact on my life and the people I love, and there really is not a lot about it that is funny. So the last thing I wanted was to give the impression that it’s all fun and games, and isn’t it funny what she gets away with.

I've also learned to no longer feel guilty if I'm invited out and don't want to go. If I start to say to myself, 'What's wrong with you that you're staying in five nights in a row to watch 'Forensic Files' instead of going out with your friends' I remind myself that it's what I need to do for myself at that point.

I don't have examples in my life of people who are all good or bad; I have deeply loved many people who are both, and I relate to those kinds of people on a far greater level.

But I've always been hard to cast, I've never been an ingenue, I've never been the romantic lead. I'm an actor; give me the script and I do what I do and hope it's good.

I was a young kid from Long Island who wanted to do something large with her life, so I can relate to that.

I've never been all that interested or aware of what people are thinking about me or saying about me. I think that has kept me safest and sanest.

One of the ways I think I gain fodder for characters is by watching people.

I sort of love reading the scripts and going, 'Oh wow, what a great idea. I never would have thought of that.

All I ever wanted to do was act. And pay my bills

I actually washed my window once, and it fell through - it was being held together by the dirt.

I was able to support myself by acting alone about six years ago. Until then, I was just scraping by.

I've watched those shows my whole life - being on one is like a dream. It's hard to balance that dream with the fact that this is the Edie I've known my whole life.

We're living in a time when parenting is not at all mirroring the way I was parented. For me, I just followed my parents around on their errands; when they were busy on the phone, I was quiet. It's a different kettle of fish these days: They run the house, and you listen to their music, and you go to their appointments.

My actual personality probably lies someplace between the two.

Being a single mother was the right thing for me. But I have a tremendous amount of help from my friends. They're in love with my kids, and my kids are in love with them.

There's a little good and bad in everyone. Everybody I've ever loved is very complicated.

I don't watch a lot of television.

I'm just not one of those people who thought having biological children was that important, to me it was more about wanting to raise a child.

It's hard to notice things without people noticing me and that takes some getting used to.

I love being able to take a nap in the afternoon.

The world gets very small after a while, if you stick around long enough.

Throughout my career I've played a lot of parts that might've been played by a man. They're human roles rather than specifically men or women. I've never been as hooked into that as a lot of women are, you know, like, 'There aren't enough roles for women.' There aren't necessarily a lot of good roles for anybody.

As a single mom, I'm juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content.

I wanted to act; that was my one goal. I wanted to devote all my time to acting and not waitressing or anything else.

Writers, actors, anybody working on an ensemble-type thing, there are going to be some creaks in the beginning. It seems like there's tremendous potential in just letting things sort of breathe a little bit. It's tremendously important.

I grew up as a tomboy. I was always barefoot, running races with the guys on the block, climbing trees, and beating kids up.

I have lots of friends and, like me, they're not married. So my kids have lots of godparents - men and women, gay and straight. My loft is always filled with people helping me out with them and loving them.

With everything that you do, once the costume is on, and you're in the pretend hospital, and you're there with your co-workers, it all sort of snaps into place: Who you are, what it feels like, who these people are to you.

In my household there is an insane amount of laughter and celebration.

Is it harder having kids and working? It definitely is, but the payoff is you get to go home to your kids, and it all balances out. And I know I'm a better mother when I'm engaged in something outside of the house.

The high-grossing films are not all that interesting to me, I have to say. It's not stuff I would want to be in. Yes, you would want the big paycheck, but that's never really been my concern.

An addict is an addict. If they're not acting out in one area, it tends to come out in another. I think there was a time when I considered myself a work addict, but that's no longer accurate.

My friends started having children after college, while I was pursuing this crazy acting career and living hand to mouth. Plus, all my boyfriends were artists struggling to make a living. Having kids didn't make any sense - why would I take on more of a financial burden when I couldn't even afford a dog?

I don't know what it must be like to be a writer in general, but to be a comedy writer, it's got to be something - it's a very special kind of talent.

It's a very complicated issue, this fame thing - I was not really cut out for it. There are some really fantastic things about it, but it's difficult for a private person like myself.

I think there was a time when I considered myself a work addict, but that's no longer accurate. My life has changed so dramatically over the last number of years, especially having a family now. My priorities have shifted.

There is no question that sobriety has made me a better actor, made me a better person.

I'm a very ritualistic, routine-oriented person, and I discovered over the years that I love working Monday through Friday.

The second you are handed a newborn it is yours. It doesn’t matter what body it came out of. I’ve never felt more strongly about anything in my life.

I grew up kind of a tomboy and I used to fight with all the neighborhood boys.

Mother elephants in the circus cannot help their babies, but we can.

I’m not sad about any of my life. It’s so unconventional. It doesn’t look anything like I thought it would.

I have this dog named Marley, and it is a kind of love I had never known. I have a hard time believing Marley did not come from my body. I know that sounds insane, but I feel that connected to her. She made me realize I wanted to adopt children.

I think that you do get a little extra jolt of confidence when you win an Emmy.

I really am profoundly grateful just in general in my life. I've had an embarrassing amount of good fortune.

I never really wanted kids. I didn't not want them, but motherhood just wasn't something that pulled at me.

I love to hand sew. I sometimes make clothing for my children, which of course they grow out of in a matter of minutes. I thoroughly love it.