Top 77 Quotes & Sayings by Kathy Bates

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actress Kathy Bates.
Last updated on December 22, 2024.
Kathy Bates

Kathleen Doyle Bates is an American actress and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and two British Academy Film Awards.

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.
It was also wonderful to have the prospect of playing with Jack Nicholson. It was a terrific part, a terrific script, with Alexander Payne and Jack Nicholson. You can't get any better than that!
Alexander Payne's very specific. His scripts are always complete when you start working on them. — © Kathy Bates
Alexander Payne's very specific. His scripts are always complete when you start working on them.
My deeply secret favorite movie is 'Meet Joe Black.'
My mother used to tell this corny story about how the doctor smacked me on the behind when I was born and I thought it was applause, and I have been looking for it ever since.
I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself that way.
My mother used to ask, 'Why do you always write such sad songs?' I don't know if I was different from a lot of adolescents in that respect.
The roles I was lucky enough to get were real stretches for me: usually a character who was older, or a little weird, or whatever. And it was hard, not just for the lack of work but because you have to face up to how people are looking at you.
I really just love to work, and I don't care if it's TV or movies.
I have always had a problem with my weight.
When Aretha Franklin came on the radio when I was in college, we would stop the car, throw open the doors, jump out, and dance.
When I first went to interview for 'Misery,' they were saying things like, 'You're not Michelle Pfeiffer, you know.' And I just don't get the relevance of that remark. I'm not Elizabeth Taylor, either. I'm not Sean Connery.
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've been in the business for so long that I don't sit home and look at my awards. — © Kathy Bates
I've been in the business for so long that I don't sit home and look at my awards.
Cancer and its aftermath changed my outlook in a profound way. I've become less of a hermit, and I travel more.
I try to always stretch myself to fit the characters that have been presented.
For a long time I did not want to do television because I did not want to get stuck playing the same person. I wanted the ongoing challenge of a variety of roles.
People will come up, and they'll talk about 'Misery.' But a lot of people will talk about 'Waterboy.'
I didn't go out on one date in high school.
I don't sit home and watch movies I've done before.
One of my favorite films is 'Psycho,' which I saw when I was 12.
I went from years of honing my craft to sudden recognition. It was quite a life changer.
'Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'
I have really focused on mindfulness. That helps me make better choices both physically, psychologically, and emotionally.
Drama comes more naturally to me. It's the comedy you really have to delve into.
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 got my SAG card quite unexpectedly. I was here in Los Angeles doing a play called 'Vanities' - it was 1976, I believe - and I got invited by Dustin Hoffman, whom I'd met in New York, to come audition for a movie he was directing.
I used to play guitar years ago. It brought me a lot of pleasure when I was a teenager growing up and was having tough times.
I have had periods of depression in my life.
Every time an Oscar is given out, an agent gets his wings.
I'm very lucky to be able to do what I love to do, and I hope I can keep doing it for a while.
I've heard of actors like De Niro and Streep who stay in character all day long. And Daniel Day-Lewis did it for 'My Left Foot.' I don't do that myself.
When I met President Obama, all I could say was 'wow' - twice. What an idiot.
I'm not a stunning woman.
I kind of grew up on horror.
I regret not taking my 83-year-old mother to the Oscars the year I won. She deserved the Oscar for giving up so much for me.
And people are always saying: 'Well, you go to Hollywood and you get yourself a film career or a TV series, and then you can do anything you want. Because then you've got the clout.' That had always sounded like a lot of hooey to me, but now I think it's true, unfortunately.
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 have to pay the bills just like everybody else, but it also pays my soul to work. — © Kathy Bates
I have to pay the bills just like everybody else, but it also pays my soul to work.
I think that being in an environment is a much richer experience than just working on a soundstage.
Jack made it very comfortable for me on the set. We'd met socially before but never worked together. You know, he's very professional, very disciplined and he's always prepared and knows his lines.
The Oscar changed everything. Better salary, working with better people, better projects, more exposure, less privacy.
My inner strength comes from my friends. I have a very close group of friends and family, and we all help each other through our dark times.
I hope I look skinnier in 3D. I hope I don't look three times as fat. That'll be disappointing.
I was never an ingenue. I've always just been a character actor. When I was younger, it was a real problem, because I was never pretty enough. It was hard, not just for the lack of work, but because you have to face up to how people are looking at you.
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 want to be defined by my own essence.
What I love about 'The Office' is the fast pace and the zaniness of those characters.
I love 'Homeland.' — © Kathy Bates
I love 'Homeland.'
I'm a horror movie fan to begin with, so to come back to the genre, I feel like horror has been very good to me.
Now if I go through it again, I think I would be a lot more open about it. I admire people who have been open like Melissa Ethridge and women I see walking around facing it without wigs and all of that stuff. I think I would be more courageous next time.
I didn't go out on one date in high school. I played guitar and sang and wrote my own music and poetry and stuff when I was a teenager.
The bottom line is that I'm an actor, so when somebody pitches me a great part, it's a no-brainer. You never know what it's gonna be like, in terms of the actual experience. You can be really excited about a part that can turn out shitty, you can have a bad time, there's a bad egg or two or three, in the bunch, or the producers are weird, or something like that.
When I was in New Orleans, I was in a grocery store and a woman came up to me and she said, "Oh, my daughter's such a big fan of the show." And I said, "Can I meet her?" And around the corner came this seven-year-old. I was horrified and I almost said to her, "Lady, what are you doing? [American Horror Story] is not for seven-year-olds, I can tell you."
I can sit here on the couch and hear you say, "You're very feminine and very attractive," but I have always struggled with that.
I read Stephen King a lot and I've actually played two roles. Delores Claiborne is my favorite, I think, of any film that I've done.
There are a lot of powerful women in Hollywood who have been movie stars for a long time who are getting into their forties and fifties. I still want to see them work.
I find it safer to pursue the powerful, the ugly, the unpleasant.
A heart can only discover what it really wants with experience.
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