Sondra Locke

From my earliest days as an actress, I had always been drawn to learning the director's job.

The number one job of an actor is to be a character and never let the acting show.

When you're a director, the job itself forces you to take charge.

I'm not going to deny that knowing someone in high places can sometimes get the job done. That's the name of the game. A son or daughter of someone famous will get a break. But once they're in there, they're on their own.

Working on location is ideal because you enter the character and the story. Shooting at a studio near home, there's a certain split. But on location, you forget the real world, and when you come back to reality, just going to the market can be traumatic.

I think of myself as an excellent actress with a lot to offer, but I'm not aggressive; I'm not ambitious. In fact, I'm anti-ambitious.

I was determined not to be typecast.

When the actor you're developing a rapport with is directing, you feel much more camaraderie about scenes, and you can relate in a much tighter way.

My biggest misfortune, my greatest regret, is that I wish I'd cut my time with Clint in half. I wouldn't say I wish I never had the relationship, but I wish I'd found a way - I'd understood who he was, where it would end - five or six years earlier so I could have gotten on with things.

I love fairy tales.

From the start of our relationship Clint told me that he wanted us always to be together and that he would take care of me forever. Clint repeatedly assured me that, regardless of whether we were married, everything he had was ours together.

I wanted people to know just who I am and what I'm all about and what actually happened. And to remind people that I had a life before Clint, and I intend to have one after.