Top 194 Quotes & Sayings by Octavia Spencer - Page 2

My mom always told me I could do or be anything I dared to dream, and I always wanted to work in the movie industry.

I gravitate to whatever looks good on me and whatever maakes me feel sexy.

The college years are when you sow all your wild oats and become a vampire. By 40, you've lived it up. At least, you hope.

I wanted to write about the things that I love.

I think success happens when it's supposed to and when you can appreciate it. I am grateful that it didn't happen for me at 22 or 23. I would've been foolish enough to think that we're all entitled to it, instead of it being the divine blessing that it is.

The fact that women are very young in obtaining their civil rights and African-Americans are young in obtaining their civil rights, I think it's about time that we extend that to all Americans, whether straight, gay, purple, green, black, brown.

I don't think there will ever be a time I don't write, and I hope there will never be a time I don't act.

I think if we give kids a break in education, we would have fewer crimes being committed. If we keep them on track, they know that they have options. It's important for me because, you know, my life would've been different had I not had the education that I had.

Hollywood is strange in and of itself. People dress up and pretend to be other people, and you can either make millions of dollars, or no money. It's odd.

Will Smith would not be Worldwide Will Smith if he had not insisted on going worldwide and touring with his films. You have to build that audience for people and allow for it to happen.

I'm thrilled I got to work with James Ponsoldt, who is going to make his mark on this industry.

People think that I have this wonderful hourglass figure, but I owe that to designer Tadashi Shoji because he cuts for me really well.

I will live in TV Land watching 'Columbo.' I also like my 'Forensic Files,' all of that true crime.

If a little black girl in Montgomery, Alabama, or some far-reaching region sees something that I do and aspires to do it one day with the knowledge that she can achieve it, then hey, my work is done.

It baffles me that everything is so homogenized, because the world isn't, and yet we continue to support things that are so incredibly milquetoast.

My weight has always been a struggle for me.

Let me tell you, my career went from zero to 900. Its hard keeping up with that pace, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

There are so few roles out there. And even if it is a film that could be led by a black actress, how many times is that film going to get funded? Let's just be real. But it's not just black people. It's Asians, it's Hispanic people if you're not Salma Hayek. It's hard. It's hard to get films funded.

Your parents only want what's best for you. They know a career in the arts usually means living paycheck to paycheck; they just want you to know that you have other options!

I love working with kids and seeing the light come on when they realize they are smart. It's so beautiful to watch.

When we don't have all the details about our characters, we have to make it up to fill in all the details. So, for me, writing and acting go hand in hand.

There is racism all over the United States. Most Southerners I know, we definitely find ourselves defending our heritage.

I have tried every diet to lose weight. When you restrict yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure.

I'll say that I don't think you can throw a stone and not come in contact with someone who knows someone or has problems with substance abuse.

It's been pretty effortless with Sensa because I am not thinking about how long do I need to do this. Usually, when you stop a diet program, you lose control again. But I don't need to stop what I'm doing. I'm eating everything that I like. Sensa just helps me keep it all in check.

As we women know, there are so many other hurdles that we have to cross that I would love it if we could stop having the race conversation so that we can get women further on. You know, a female president now that we have an African American president. Maybe we can get an Asian female, a gay person?

I like to read, even though it was really tough, because I could go anywhere in the world in a book, and I could have so many adventures in a book.

If you tell me I can't eat something, I'll obsess over it and end up overeating!

When you give kids the tools necessary to change their destiny, it's really empowering.

Needless to say, I would have loved to have been a black belt instead of actually just wearing one to hold up my pants!

I know I'm never going to be one of those size 2 actresses - that's just not me. But I do want to be the healthiest I can be, and a role model to women of all shapes and sizes.

I should be married and have 19 kids. And now I'm thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They're going to go past their expiration date. But it's what I chose, so I'm fine with that decision.

My idea of success is not Oscars. Am I glad I have that little trinket? Yes, I am. But it depends on how you define success. The minute I got my first professional cheque from Joel Schumacher, I was successful. Somebody's paying me to act!

If more women ate, they would be a lot happier. Let me tell you, I am a lot grumpier when I don't eat.

If you are unhealthy, start by making small changes to become healthier. You are unique, beautiful, and worthy.

If a great role comes along, and you are too tall to play it, then I think the role is too small for your talents.

I literally don't think about Oscar.

It may sound funny, but it's true: I tried to put myself through the 12-step program. I didn't want to attend a real meeting; my role didn't really require that, and I feel those meetings are sort of sacred, and they're anonymous for a reason. I tried to deal with some of my love of snacks - and I relapsed a lot.

If you go through life, and you don't find the beauty in an unexpected place, then you really have a sad existence.

I probably wanted to be Pam Grier growing up.

It was never easy being Cicely Tyson. And it will not be easy being Octavia or Viola Davis.

I have to lead a very small life in terms of what people think 'Hollywood' is. It's a full life for me, but I'm not jetting across the world. But life is good.

I want to see more Asian. I want to see more Latin. I want more Indian. There's more than Mindy Kaling out there, guys! There's more than Bai Ling.

To be silent is to be passive.

I was always a closet lover of acting. My mom was very practical. She never, ever restricted our dreams, always told us we could do or be anything. Then I said, 'Maybe I want to be an actor'. And she said, 'Maybe not that'.

You have to create your own path and I'm up to the challenge.

I'm reading today because of 'Encyclopedia Brown.'

Being a part of a large family is just like a little society: those who fight to the top of the heap. We relied on each other and still do. They never discouraged me or told me to get a proper job.

My hat's off to Shonda Rhimes.

City Year resonated with me because when I grew up, we were poor - and an education is a way out of poverty. It's a way out of the current situation that can seem isolating and hopeless for some kids.

No person is just one particular emotion.

Tough love is the hardest to give.

I am not maternal at all. I don't have any kids.

I feel for the overly thin women as I do for the overweight women.

Angry or not. It's a human emotion. But you can't walk around being angry all the time. What a dull person you'd have to be!

I hope that in some way that I can be some sort of beacon of hope, especially because I am not the typical Hollywood beauty.

I've seen too many sunrises, as far as the walk of shame, staying out too late doing very bad things.

If you come out of the gate with a finger pointed, then you really aren't opening the door to any sort of resolution to whatever the problem may be. Whether it's about race or sexual orientation or religion, if you can't empathize with the opposing party, then you can't really meet in the middle.

As a kid, I was always very thin, and I kind of didn't know that I was skinny.

I gravitate to the roles, not necessarily television or film. It's just the fact that, for me, the most interesting roles have been in television.