Francesca Annis Quotes

Sometimes sushi is just superb, and other times there's nothing like a great big steak. It depends where your taste buds are at the time.

I consulted a Chinese herbalist and spent two weeks on an island off the coast of Zanzibar. I was away from any kind of contemporary technology.

When I was starting out, young actresses had the studio system to protect them. Now you have a host of sharks, from your agent to your publicist to your lawyer.

I don't believe in expending energy on something you can't do anything about. If there was some easy way of fixing things, I'd probably do it.

Roman's wife Sharon Tate had been murdered by Charles Manson the year before, but Roman had been through so much leaving the Warsaw ghetto that he was very strong and private.

I think people have surgery for psychological reasons more than because of their looks.

However successful you are, there is no substitute for a close relationship. We all need them.

I'm often asked if I regret not going to Hollywood. I'm glad I didn't go, because if I had I wouldn't have my extended family, which is the fabric of my life. Only recently have I realised how special and unusual it is.

I go on giving interviews because I've been brought up to support the projects I'm involved in. When you've enjoyed working on a production, you want to do them a favour.

My parents were hugely supportive like that. I was always the best - it's so embarrassing, isn't it? I was always the best at everything.

The minute anyone's getting anxious I say, You must eat and you must sleep. They're the two vital elements for a healthy life.

The first thing you have to do is accept that decay sets in and there's nothing you can do about it.

Too often, older women are seen as victims, but I know lots of formidable women who have marvellous jobs as well as a full erotic life, and children and friends and family.

You have to be careful not to let your fear stop you doing things. It's very exciting to test yourself.

I've never been married and I've no more desire to be married now than I ever have. I hate bureaucracy and I am not religious.

There is not enough celebration of companionship. Relationships aren't just about eroticism and sexuality.

I don't need a piece of paper to suggest that I can commit myself.

I do find acting cathartic.

Some actors get fired up by the sound of the audience. I just want to retreat.

I maintain the rather old-fashioned view that this is my work and it's in the public arena, but that doesn't entitle everyone to know what happened at home before coming here.

I couldn't imagine playing someone young now; it would be so boring

Everything has changed. An interview has become such a confrontational thing. It makes you very defensive.

I'm one of the great unemployed looking for the next job. I'm waiting for the right offer. Like anyone, I want something that turns me on inside.

Thank God we're not like America. Everyone wants to look like they're 20. In Europe we admire grown-up women; I think men revere older women.

It's funny, this thing about happiness. It's a commodity that was imported from America in the Fifties. I see myself simply as living my life. . . . I feel it's pushing your luck to define how happy you are.

I used to suffer from excessive pride. Well, I got over that one.

The thing about doing anything artificial to your hair is that you have to look after it. So you're always vulnerable to the weather and time

I don't buy the tabloids, but you're surrounded by it all and people tell you things they've read. I'd be sitting on a train looking over someone's shoulder and thinking: That's familiar... oh my God, it's me.

Fame and stardom sat very easily on Elizabeth Taylor's shoulders.

I have yet to see a drama that puts forward women who are successful and have a family. Women are nearly always seen as victims.

I am pretty self-indulgent.

Truly charismatic people, in my experience, dont come along very often.

You can love more than one person in your life, but things will be different. There'll be a different dynamic. Needs and desires change.

You can be revered for all sorts of qualities, but to be truly charismatic is rare. Elizabeth Taylor was, for me, one of those rarities.

I do think it's important to live in the present because in that way you won't be living in a state of regret.

The funny thing is I'm not bothered or sad about being on my own - after all I've never had a husband.

We all know now that people can look good for their age. It isn't so extraordinary, I don't know why people go on about it so much.

I can feel the 60S looming. In my profession, I've just moved along with my age. By thinking in decades, rather than whether someone's 42 or 47, you can give yourself a whole 10 years to turn yourself around in.

I was seen dancing at school by a director, who asked me to be in a TV play. And it had a huge impact. So I think thats what really started me off.

I didn't choose to be an actress

I was asked to be in Vogue but I said no. I didn't want to advertise make-up. I didn't want to be seen as a sex symbol.

I was always going to be a dancer - I drifted into acting.

After all my various relationships I find myself now home alone.

If people think I look good, it's the make-up.

I don't regret the passing of time. I try to live in the present, which should mean my life's full.

I'm trying to learn to smoke, which is rather weird when everyone is trying to stop. I'm not a smoker. But my character only smokes as an affectation.

I am not a fanatic about anything. I do what I can do when I've got the time.

As you grow older, your whole life becomes very rich, multifaceted.

Having children with someone is the real bond.

Each decade, I've lived in that decade, so I could easily shed the '20s, the '30s, the '40s.