Kathy Bates

“I'm not a stunning woman.”

“I love 'Homeland.'”

“It matters to me, acting. It's what I do. It's what I've given up a lot to do. It's my life source. And I guess I'm too serious about it sometimes, but I want to treat it right.”

“I went from years of honing my craft to sudden recognition. It was quite a life changer.”

“I'm always so nervous when I have to do interviews or be on 'The Tonight Show' or the 'Oprah' show, where I have to be myself. I don't know why that's such a big deal - being yourself. But for some reason, I feel good in a dark room talking to actors about acting, doing acting. I like sitting backstage watching people work.”

“I look for a role that hopefully I feel empathy with and that I can understand and love, but also that has that challenge for me to play - a different kind of role, a different type of character, a different time period.”

“I didn't go out on one date in high school.”

“Drama comes more naturally to me. It's the comedy you really have to delve into.”

“Alexander Payne's very specific. His scripts are always complete when you start working on them.”

“After winning the Oscar, I was committed to do 'Fried Green Tomatoes,' but I didn't know what the next thing would be after that. It was a scary time. But the advantage of TV is the regular work. All you need is a hit series, I guess.”

“I have to pay the bills just like everybody else, but it also pays my soul to work.”

“I'm not that conservative. I do feel - I guess I'm more of a Democrat at heart, although I've never affiliated myself with a particular party.”

“I really just love to work, and I don't care if it's TV or movies.”

“I want to be defined by my own essence.”