Quotes By Francesca Annis

Some actors get fired up by the sound of the audience. I just want to retreat.

I'm often asked if I regret not going to Hollywood. I'm glad I didn't go, because if I had I wouldn't have my extended family, which is the fabric of my life. Only recently have I realised how special and unusual it is.

Roman's wife Sharon Tate had been murdered by Charles Manson the year before, but Roman had been through so much leaving the Warsaw ghetto that he was very strong and private.

I am pretty self-indulgent.

You have to be careful not to let your fear stop you doing things. It's very exciting to test yourself.

Everything is about class in England, whether it's upper, lower or middle. Why should that be?

I was asked to be in Vogue but I said no. I didn't want to advertise make-up. I didn't want to be seen as a sex symbol.

I didn't choose to be an actress.

I don't need a piece of paper to suggest that I can commit myself.

I maintain the rather old-fashioned view that this is my work and it's in the public arena, but that doesn't entitle everyone to know what happened at home before coming here.

Each decade, I've lived in that decade, so I could easily shed the '20s, the '30s, the '40s.

However successful you are, there is no substitute for a close relationship. We all need them.

Judi Dench and Ian McKellen taught me how to work hard and respect the theatre.

I never pursued being 'famous.'

I've always kept fit but I've been doing gym and yoga and will be throwing my stilettoes away for a while!

My parents were hugely supportive like that. I was always the best - it's so embarrassing, isn't it? I was always the best at everything.

I was always going to be a dancer - I drifted into acting.

I don't regret the passing of time. I try to live in the present, which should mean my life's full.

I have got a few misters interested but nobody special these days.

Too often, older women are seen as victims, but I know lots of formidable women who have marvellous jobs as well as a full erotic life, and children and friends and family.

I was seen dancing at school by a director, who asked me to be in a TV play. And it had a huge impact. So I think that's what really started me off.

The funny thing is I'm not bothered or sad about being on my own - after all I've never had a husband.

The first thing you have to do is accept that decay sets in and there's nothing you can do about it.

I can feel the 60S looming. In my profession, I've just moved along with my age. By thinking in decades, rather than whether someone's 42 or 47, you can give yourself a whole 10 years to turn yourself around in.

In films people basically work for the camera, you know, and that's why actors can hate each other and not be speaking to each other and still look as if they're in love because really they're loving the camera loving them.

I'm one of the great unemployed looking for the next job. I'm waiting for the right offer. Like anyone, I want something that turns me on inside.

Everyone has class, one class or another.

I don't want three million people digesting my private life over their cornflakes.

I think people have surgery for psychological reasons more than because of their looks.

So many stars lose their way, and with success become more neurotic, not less so.