Helena Bonham Carter famous quotes

Why do you put your self esteem in the hands of complete strangers?
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Self Esteem #Hands #Stranger

When it comes to acting, people talk about the suspension of disbelief that you ask of the audience. Before that starts, you have to, as an actor, suspend your own disbelief.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#People #Acting #Actors

I don't think kids have a problem with death. It's us older ones who are nearer to it, that start being frightened.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Kids #Thinking #Problem

Sometimes I get it right and I sometimes I get it wrong. But fashion is all about having fun. I think fashion has been hijacked by the fashion industry creating rules on what one should wear and I feel like breaking the mold and seeing that the world won’t crumble.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Fashion #Fun #Thinking

Wear what you feel comfortable with. People say nasty things about what I wear in the street. I'm always in worst dressed lists, but you just have to dress for yourself and ­nobody else.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#People #Dresses #Lists

Who wants to be normal when you can be unique?
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Unique #Want #Normal

Fairytales have always got to have that scary quality, as long as you make them laugh.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Long #Laughing #Scary

I liked pretending to be other people: I could reinvent myself, reinvent my own reality.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Reality #People #Pretending

I'm the kind of actor who has ventured into escaping from me.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Escaping #Actors #Kind

With the number of people I ignore, I'm lucky I work at all in this town.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Numbers #People #Lucky

It took me ages to grow into being a woman, into being happy with it.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Age #Being A Woman #Grows

All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Dark #Scary #Classic

I should get a few ribs taken out, because I'll be in a corset for the rest of my life.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Taken #Ribs #Should

If you're a queen, you're powerless, so I'd probably demote myself and go shopping.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Inspirational #Queens #Shopping

I love changing what I look like because I always feel super strange whenever I do watch something that I'm in.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Watches #Looks #Strange

I enjoy those small chats you have when people come up and talk to you about your work. It only involves a few seconds of effort to be nice to those people, and I am very grateful for the kind words that people have taken the trouble to express to me in person.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Nice #Taken #Grateful

But it's often been the case, I've done so many countless small, independent films that really 3.2 people have seen, so you never know. You do it for the joy of the part and not necessarily expect anyone to see the final product.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Independent #People #Joy

Imperfection is underrated. Perfection is overrated.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Perfection #Imperfection #Overrated

People say, 'You're still breast-feeding, that's so generous.' Generous, no! It gives me ***** and it takes my thighs away! It's sort of like natural liposuction. I'd carry on breast-feeding for the rest of my life if I could.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#People #Giving #Natural

Falling in love with him was completely unexpected. When you only see someone as a friend, you don’t expect anything else. There was definitely a moment when something quite magical happened and we both agree that it transformed our relationship.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Falling In Love #Unexpected #Moments

I was like one of those nauseatingly nice children. I was very, very well behaved and boring.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Children #Nice #Boring

It feels like a rash. It suddenly seems like I've got a contagion of diseases, I mean awards. But it's nice, it's a nice feeling. It's so weird, because I'm only 46. A lifetime Achievement award... it feels like 'I'm not over yet'. I hope they're not trying to say it's time to stop. I'm only just getting the gist of it.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Nice #Mean #Awards

I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Life #Dream #Art

Multitasking? I can't even do two things at once. I can't even do one thing at once.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Two #Multitasking

That's the thing with animated films - I often feel that puppets get the better parts compared to us normal actresses.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Normal #Puppets #Actresses

It was weird because I was pregnant, throughout that so it was weird being a pregnant witch. I was in a really bad mood but luckily, because I sleep with the director, he just sort of scheduled me so I only had to do it two nights.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Pregnancy #Sleep #Night

I hate this image of me as a prim Edwardian. I want to shock everyone.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Hate #Want #I Hate

Famous people come up to me, but I don't know who they are because my sight is so bad. It's always at the pool of the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills when I don't have my lenses in and my glasses are in my room.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Eyeglasses #Sight #People

You learn to rely on a few basic movements and use your voice to the greatest extent possible to convey your emotions. So there was a technical challenge there and a responsibility to create a character from behind the mask.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Responsibility #Character #Voice

I think my mouth just opens and I spontaneously say things that occur to me.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking #Mouths

I’ve aged, but I don’t think I’ve grown up.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking

I drink booze, I smoke, and I'm hooked on caffeine. I actually have been known to swear at times and belch and even raise my voice when provoked. And I'm not physically repressed!
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Voice #Drink #Booze

I drink a lot of Diet Coke and belch. I've been known to use the ''f'' word.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Use #Coke #Drink

A film actor is just a victim of directors and editors.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Editors #Directors #Actors

There is no normality in life.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

I do think imperfection's underrated.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking #Perfection #Imperfection

People have lots of misconceptions about me. My mum, who is half French and half Spanish, gets outraged when I'm called quintessentially English. I owe my looks to my mum-which was 90 percent of getting my first job. And, some people would argue, 90 percent of my entire career.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Jobs #Careers #People

I was weird right from the start. It's just that you can't ever expect people to get you. And I do think that really did mess with my head, being well-known young, when you really don't know who you are.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking #People #Well Known

I was reading William Shawcross's biography of the Queen Mother, dressed in my witch outfit! And you know what? It was a really good mix; it was a therapeutic mix.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mother #Queens #Reading

I think I've still got a bit of a sado-masochistic streak in me, because if I'm not going to be restricted by corsets and covered in lace, then I still wind up wearing an ape-mask over my face. I do wonder how I get myself in these situations!
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking #Wind #Faces

I just went and got an agent because I thought I can create my own world - you can't right your own life, but you can escape to a world where you can have control.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Agents #World

J.K. Rowling said Bellatrix's role was going to be significant in the last one, when I showed some reluctance in playing a tiny bit part. Up front, they said, 'You're very significant in the last one.' But significant could mean a lot of things. That could just mean a significant plot point. Doesn't necessarily equal big part.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mean #Lasts #Tiny

Journalists are always calling my features Edwardian or Victorian, whatever that means. I am small, and people were smaller in those times. I'm pale and sickly-looking. I look fragile-like a doll. But sometimes I just wish I had less of a particular look, one that was more versatile.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mean #People #Wish

You just have to do what suits you, and it doesn't matter if you don't look like everybody else. Be you. That's our gift and we've got to celebrate that.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Looks #Matter #Suits

There is no normality in life. Having two houses means that we can get out of each other's hair - which, let's face it, we've both got a lot of
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mean #Hair #Two

I was a mixture of being incredibly old for my age and incredibly backwards. I was born quite old, but then I stopped growing. I lived with my mum and dad till I was 30.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Birthday #Dad #Age

I'm convinced that whatever state you're in during your pregnancy has a huge influence on the baby's personality - so I hope we haven't produced a little serial killer!
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Baby #Pregnancy #Personality

Sometimes I go, “What am I doing with my life?” But then I get letters from young women, or people come up to me, and they say, “You’ve made such a difference to my confidence.” And that is a good thing. I should read more fan mail though. I’m crap at responding.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Differences #People #Letters

I just thought I‘d never look good in what everybody else wore. So there’s no point trying. You just have to do what suits you, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t look like everybody else. Be you. That’s our gift and we’ve got to celebrate that, but it does take ages. I was wracked with self-doubt for years. I get spasms of it even now – I’m not indelibly self-confident.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Years #Self #Doubt

I’m more comfortable with myself than when I was younger. I hated myself then. Wait, I didn’t hate myself – that’s a strong word. But I was so diffident. I didn’t know how to act, for one. I had no confidence in that area or in myself at all, really. I had a big inner critic and still do. I just don’t listen to it so much.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Strong #Hate #Waiting

I love witches and magic and dress-up and make-believe.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Believe #Magic #Wicked

And trust. It takes a long time to trust someone. You work with people, anybody you dont know, it takes about a films length to get to know each other. Then if you move on, you have to start right back at the beginning. But if you carry on together and try doing different things, you can all grow together.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Moving #Long #People

No matter how many modern parts I do, people still refer to me as Mrs. Costume Drama.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Drama #People #Matter

I've never had white teeth. To be honest, I've never been told to do any of those horrible things - get your teeth whitened or your nose straightened.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#White #Teeth #Noses

I also get fed up with the fact that casting agents and directors have this impression of me as being frail and petite. I find it very patronizing. I'm quite beefy and strong. I was a gymnast in school and I have lots of muscles.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Strong #School #Casting

I'm always attracted to lower budget, not because it's lower budget, but because they tend to be better scripts.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Scripts

I was sad that Corpse Bride was so short. I would've liked to have had her around for way longer. She doesn't actually have that many scenes.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Hair #Way #Scene

I think smells, like sounds, can be so much immediately affecting.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Thinking #Smell #Sound

I remember I did think, 'Wouldn't it be nice if Mr. Right moved in next door?'
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Nice #Thinking #Doors

I personally never got the gist of Facebook and Twitter.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Gist

I look completely like my mum. She's very foreign, very Jewish.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Looks #Mum

I just do things because I fancy the parts and the directors.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Directors #Fancy

Mothers are the heart of any household. I try to spend as much time with my children as I possibly can while also fulfilling my professional duties. It is tricky, but I think I manage it.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mother #Children #Heart

You become very angry and depressed that you keep getting offered only these exceedingly demure and repressed roles. They're so not me. That's why films like Fight Club were so important to me because I think I confounded certain stereotypes and limited perceptions of what I could do as an actress.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Fighting #Thinking #Perception

The parenting bit is much harder than the acting bit. You just never know what to do.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Acting #Harder

Because I sleep with him he asked me to audition, you know?
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Sleep #Auditions #Euthanasia

When you're up for an Oscar, you just get offered everything. It's fantastic, but a lot of it you're completely inappropriate for.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Oscars #Inappropriate #Fantastic

I'm drawn to emotionally damaged characters because there is more to unlock.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Character

I have to struggle to change people's perceptions of me. I grew very frustrated with the perception that I'm this shy, retiring, inhibited aristocratic creature when I'm absolutely not like that at all. I think I'm much more outgoing and exuberant than my image.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Struggle #Thinking #People

I'm a very good sleeper.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Very Good

I've got Tourette's, practically. I'll tell anyone anything.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Tourettes

It would be nice to really shed the corsets.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Nice #Would Be #Being Nice

It's different when you're an actor and playing a part, but when it's just you, you feel immensely vulnerable have strangers prodding and prying.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Different #Actors #Vulnerable

As everyone, you do end up becoming your mother, but also as you're acting, I find out you become every member of your family, bits come out without you really wanting them to come out.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Mother #Acting #Becoming

The problems come when your personal life and relationships come under scrutiny in the press and often very uncomplimentary things are printed about you.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Problem #Scrutiny #Printed

It was a challenge to be able to create a character without being able to use one's normal set of expressions. All the rubber and makeup attached to your face left you with only a modest range of facial movements.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Character #Makeup #Expression

It took me so many years to move out. I'm definitely a bit of a Peter Pan, reluctant to grow up. It all seemed really nice at home-why change it? Part of me would prefer not to have any responsibility whatsoever.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Growing Up #Nice #Moving

I'm not dead and I don't have blue hair but some people say there are similarities. It is usually intolerable to watch myself onscreen but this time it's fine. I think it's beautiful and a real work of art.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Beautiful #Art #Real

I loved doing all those costume dramas. I didn't think, 'Ooh I've got to avoid being typecast' - you can't ever be dictated to by what other people think. I just do things because I fancy the parts and the directors.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Drama #Thinking #People

You can actually have a pitch button, you know, to get people on pitch.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#People #Buttons

When you write for very young children what they want is something familiar and safe and stereotyped.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Children #Writing #Safe

My father fell really chronically ill when I was 13 and that's when I phoned up an agent and started to act.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Father #Agents #Ill

No, I can never rely on Tim to make me pretty.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Rely

I'm often criticised for what I wear. That's my main label in the press now: disastrous dresser!
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Labels #Dressers

On corsets: I said, You have got to be kidding. I am an ape and yet I am still expected to squeeze myself into one of those damn things.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Apes #Said #Expected

Very early on, you figure out that you put your self-esteem in the hands of strangers. There's a different commodity. There's the Helena Bonham Carter that everyone thinks they know, who really has nothing to do with me. But you just have to let that go.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Self Esteem #Thinking #Hands

I had never had any experience of autism before and I would come home and look at my son, Billy, who is now two, and be absolutely paranoid, particularly because he loves Thomas the Tank Engine, and lots of autys love Thomas. But he is not very good at pointing, and autistic children absolutely love pointing.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Children #Home #Son

Am I a good example? Well, at least I'm not too thin. I eat.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Example #Wells

Maybe from now on puppets can do the parts
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Puppets #Parting

What I loved about playing the corpse is that obviously somebody else got to do the physical part. It appeals to the part of me that likes playing character parts and getting the chance to get away from my own physicality.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Character #Likes #Chance

Usually I'm frustrated when I look at my films and I don't believe that I've made a real transformation beyond my usual sets of gestures and expressions. I still have this nagging feeling that it's me, that I didn't create a unique character.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Real #Believe #Character

Tim also has enough confidence so that it always looks like a Tim Burton film, but it really is collaborative. You're allowed to do it your way but of course he's always going to choose his way.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Looks #Way #Film

When I was young I had so many inferiority complexes. I had an inferiority complex because I didn’t go to university. I had an inferiority complex because I didn’t train. Then it gets tiring. And you do get bored of it.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Bored #Inferiority #Tire

Not only was it nearly impossible to hear because of these huge rubber ears we had to wear, but we also had these huge furry hands which were absolutely useless, especially if you had to scratch yourself.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Hands #Scratches #Ears

No matter how many modern parts I do, people still refer to me as Mrs. Costume Drama. Fight Club is a studio pic, and I've done very few of those. I've got a feeling it's going to change things for me.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Drama #Fighting #People

Most of my relationships were people in the business. Having said that, me and Tim don't really talk that much about work. He comes into my bit of the house every so often to vent but we don't really have very high, cultured conversations.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#People #House #Conversation

I actually pointed my wand and it blew up! The power! The power was just like Angry Birds, but big [as] life.
-- Helena Bonham Carter

#Bird #Bigs #Wands