Claire Danes

“I think people are made uncomfortable by uncensored expressions of emotion.”

“My goal is always to do something that feels just beyond my reach, and 'Homeland' continues to do that. Every season, they find new ways to scare me. The show is like a diamond that fell from the sky. I'll always feel slightly bludgeoned by it, but in the best way possible.”

“So much of my job is about finding another job, and that's really boring.”

“Narciso Rodriguez was my first fashion big brother. He made my wedding dress, which was wonderful.”

“Psychology and acting are very closely linked. It's just about studying people and how they work. It can be an incredible discipline and exercise.”

“I should be so lucky to be a misfit. I aspire to be a misfit.”

“As a young performer, I didn't know that you can have a great time playing someone in terrible crisis. The more you know it's not real, the deeper you can go into it. And the easier it is to let it go when it's done.”

“I finally realized that yeah I did want to be an actor and it wasn't out of habit, but I needed to grow up for myself and then kind of re-enter the industry with a sound understanding of what my sensibilities and my values are as a relatively formed human being.”

“I get a little jealous of these actor boys. They walk into a club, and in two seconds flat there are swarms of girls who are wanting so badly to touch them or just say hello. That's not the case with me, or any other girl I know.”

“I would be a terrible CIA officer in real life.”

“I was a pretty nerdy kid. I was pretty nerdy. I'm still kind of nerdy. I have all of the worst qualities of being a nerd - all of the affect and none of the smarts. I'm a useless nerd! That's pretty bad.”

“My go-to gifts are scarves from my friend Matin Maulawizada's nonprofit organization, Afghan Hands, which supports disenfranchised women in Afghanistan. In exchange for their beautiful embroidery, the women are given financial aid and classes in math and literacy. The scarves are all stunning and one of a kind.”

“I'm exceptionally open with my own parents, and they're exceptionally open with me.”

“I could truly have gone through life thinking that women were these venomous creatures. Turns out, they're not.”

“I'm happier in my thirties. I feel clearer about who I am and less apologetic about it, and more accepting of my limitations and also more aware of the ways in which I'm capable.”

“I love sitting in the makeup trailer and getting my makeup done in 15 minutes as opposed to an hour and a half.”

“I got an agent when I was 12, and I started working in more amateur productions well before that. But even as a kid, I never felt like a kid actor, you know? I always took myself kind of absurdly seriously.”

“When I was a kid, I was one of those really obnoxious 'oooh oooh' girls, with my hand up in the air constantly. I've learned over the years that that's not so attractive, so I've censored that.”

“I'm only realizing now that I was a child actress because I always took myself so seriously.”

“Autism does exist on a spectrum, and there are so many manifestations of it, so many kinds of expressions of it. And every case is particular.”