Ashley Judd

“I was always told I was special. And I was also assured that I had a gift and a purpose.”

“No, I don't tolerate pressure from anyone about anything.”

“People say that to me and I think what unites all my characters is that they are hurt; it's most accurate to say I play characters that are hurt but are responding to their environment.”

“When I accept a role, I feel that as an artist I have to submit completely to the tutelage of my director. And while I expect to be heard and encouraged and honored, at the end of the day, man, it's the way the director wants it.”

“Some Kentucky fans are a little more subdued.”

“And it blew my mind when I started to get wind of the fact that they actually liked me being around. That was humbling, because Kentucky basketball is a big deal, and I am not the biggest fan - I am just the most notorious one.”

“I can't think of anything I want and need that I don't already have but at the same time, I'm not sated.”

“Ruby in Paradise and the intensity and quality that I was able to experience on Smoke were equally as important to me as working on this movie every day for three-and-a-half months.”

“I've always been crazy for the American songbook.”

“More often than what you're suggesting, I find people are surprised that I have an urban side to me.”