Marian Seldes

I'm not a good tourist. I don't like walking around and looking at things. I like being in a city and working and finding out how other people live.

If I had a religious belief, I would want it to be as strong as my belief in the theater.

There's no trick of teaching acting. Either someone wants to do it and is gifted, or not.

Confidence has nothing to do with what you look like. If you obsess over that, you'll end up being disappointed in yourself all the time. Instead, high self-esteem comes from how you feel in any moment. So walk into a room acting like you're in charge, and spend your energy on making the people around you happy.

People say, 'How can you stay in a play for a long time?' I say, 'The audience is never the same.'

I grew up in a house where language was appreciated and cared about. I'm sure that, although I wasn't aware of it at the time, it must have made an impression on me.

When I began to act, I was about 6 years old. Everything you learned, every period of history you studied, you did a play about it.

I think the first time I was ever really conscious of the difference between people's voices was that my mother's voice was so soft and gentle and her pronunciation was so perfect.

Unfortunately, there are mental invalids of every age who exist on other people's terms. It's lazy for older persons to let others make up their minds for them. People have to overcome that.

I think of myself as only being an actress when I'm acting, but my friends will say I act all the time.