Bonnie Bedelia

Unless you burst into movies as a sex goddess, you're likely to play wives and mothers. I came into movies as a teenager in 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They' (1969) playing a pregnant waif from the Ozarks. I didn't get a chance to burst into movies in 'Body Heat.' My career isn't based on having a 23-inch waist and a big bust, though I do. ”

I grew up in a slum neighborhood - rows of tenements, with stoops, and kids all over the street. It was a real neighborhood - we played kick-the-can and ring-a-levio. ”

Women over 35 have great stories, and the actresses are there, but you can't get the movies made. ”

If I spoke Italian, I'd be in Italy in a minute. I love the food, I love the way people live there. I mean, it really is my idea of paradise. ”

I'm from New York; I've been in show business all my life. I'm a wild and crazy gal, yet I always play these soft, warm, loving earth mothers. It's a pain in the butt. I'm a femme fatale! ”

I didn't even know how to judge 'Die Hard 1.' It's not anything I know how to judge. I'd never seen an action movie. I'd never seen a Sly Stallone movie or an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie or a Charles Bronson movie. And that is the truth. ”

We need children to play the parts in movies. I'm just glad it's not my kids. ”

I have two children - could I ever choose between them? Never. That's what 'Sophie's Choice' was about. If you have 50 children, you don't love one less. ”

It's hard to think it's important to try out as cheerleader when you're starring on Broadway. But you do kind of miss the things that I now see my children doing. I'm just happy they are not actors. The Valentine's Day dance is really important. Pitching in Little League is very important. And the medals and the scouts are really important. ”

I like to do a movie, to be on it 8, 10 weeks. It evolves as you're working on it. Little things come to you every day. It's a slow process, and when you have to pack it into a short period of time, which you do for television, the experience is not one that I cherish. So if it's going to be television, it's really got to be the right thing. ”