Annette Bening

I never thought my private life would be newsworthy.

— Annette Bening

I do have to take care of myself, not only because I'm in the movies, just for mental health reasons. I exercise…

— Annette Bening

We all get lost along the way, but hopefully we figure out some sort of path. It helps if you can imagine…

— Annette Bening

One of the things on a very practical level as an actor or actress is that when you do a play, you…

— Annette Bening

We want to be seen for who we really are, and each person has his own complex story and reasons for doing…

— Annette Bening

I don't see myself as competing with other actresses. I mean, I went through a time when I was in New York,…

— Annette Bening

I'm lucky: almost all my family has lived to be very old. I have one grandfather who lived to be 100.

— Annette Bening

It's always tricky to watch yourself, always. When I first had to watch myself, it was really hard because I'd done quite…

— Annette Bening

To me, I didn't think of acting as being a young thing only.

— Annette Bening

I act, but I am a mother first and wife second.

— Annette Bening

Why I love acting is that it's totally subjective and I like that. I like that.

— Annette Bening

Somebody said something really smart: It's like you end up being the defense attorney for your role. Your job is to defend…

— Annette Bening

Anybody who has children and children who are well feels a sense of responsibility towards parents and kids and families that are…

— Annette Bening

I just want to be educated.

— Annette Bening

I remember hearing someone say that good acting is more about taking off a mask than putting one on, and in movie…

— Annette Bening

Our children see us a certain way, and we want to be seen by them in a certain way. I certainly want…

— Annette Bening

There's so much of our psychological makeup which is impermissible for us to explore because it's inappropriate or perverse or scary. I'm…

— Annette Bening

Acting is not about being famous, it's about exploring the human soul.

— Annette Bening

It's easier to see in someone else, another actor, how they kind of disappear and then this other persona appears. A great…

— Annette Bening

As an actor, you want to be open to the unexpected. So in order to be open to that, you do have…

— Annette Bening

If you can open people's hearts first, then maybe people's minds get opened after that.

— Annette Bening

I find the reality of our emotional lives interesting.

— Annette Bening

It's kind of a mystery to me, as far as my own life experiences and what I've witnessed - why some people…

— Annette Bening

You can't ask the guy with the checkbook to always be the person. So, we actors have to try. And believe me,…

— Annette Bening

If you're an actor, you have to find a way to make peace with all the media attention.

— Annette Bening