Octavia Spencer

I was an intern on a film called 'The Long Walk Home.'

I gravitate to whatever looks good on me and whatever maakes me feel sexy.

I should be married and have 19 kids. And now I'm thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They're going to go past their expiration date. But it's what I chose, so I'm fine with that decision.

If you are unhealthy, start by making small changes to become healthier. You are unique, beautiful, and worthy.

Be happy in your own skin.

I feel for the overly thin women as I do for the overweight women.

If more women ate, they would be a lot happier. Let me tell you, I am a lot grumpier when I don't eat.

I'm reading today because of 'Encyclopedia Brown.'

I wanted to write about the things that I love.

I am not maternal at all. I don't have any kids.

When we don't have all the details about our characters, we have to make it up to fill in all the details. So, for me, writing and acting go hand in hand.

I like to read, even though it was really tough, because I could go anywhere in the world in a book, and I could have so many adventures in a book.

My mom always told me I could do or be anything I dared to dream, and I always wanted to work in the movie industry.

I literally don't think about Oscar.

I'm thrilled I got to work with James Ponsoldt, who is going to make his mark on this industry.

It may sound funny, but it's true: I tried to put myself through the 12-step program. I didn't want to attend a real meeting; my role didn't really require that, and I feel those meetings are sort of sacred, and they're anonymous for a reason. I tried to deal with some of my love of snacks - and I relapsed a lot.

I'm one of those people if you ask, 'What's your favourite song?' I'm going to give you five. I don't have just one favourite.

You would not believe that Paula Patton and I have the same trainer.

I am not trying to conform to an unrealistic model of beauty. I am, however, being proactive in being the healthiest I can be.

The pace of television is very different from film.

I will live in TV Land watching 'Columbo.' I also like my 'Forensic Files,' all of that true crime.

My life is exactly the way it needs to be.

My idea of success is not Oscars. Am I glad I have that little trinket? Yes, I am. But it depends on how you define success. The minute I got my first professional cheque from Joel Schumacher, I was successful. Somebody's paying me to act!

Being a part of a large family is just like a little society: those who fight to the top of the heap. We relied on each other and still do. They never discouraged me or told me to get a proper job.

There are so few roles out there. And even if it is a film that could be led by a black actress, how many times is that film going to get funded? Let's just be real. But it's not just black people. It's Asians, it's Hispanic people if you're not Salma Hayek. It's hard. It's hard to get films funded.

Will Smith would not be Worldwide Will Smith if he had not insisted on going worldwide and touring with his films. You have to build that audience for people and allow for it to happen.

Hollywood is strange in and of itself. People dress up and pretend to be other people, and you can either make millions of dollars, or no money. It's odd.

It baffles me that everything is so homogenized, because the world isn't, and yet we continue to support things that are so incredibly milquetoast.

I have a great team at WME.

If you go through life, and you don't find the beauty in an unexpected place, then you really have a sad existence.

My hat's off to Shonda Rhimes.

'Grey's Anatomy' is a very culturally diverse show.

No person is just one particular emotion.

Angry or not. It's a human emotion. But you can't walk around being angry all the time. What a dull person you'd have to be!

There's so much bigotry that needs to be overcome.

I choose projects that resonate with me on some personal level and projects that I'm afraid to do. If I'm afraid to do them, then I usually say yes, because it means that I'm not ready to go there and deal with certain aspects of the script. And that means that I need to do it, because the things that scare you only make you better and stronger.

We all have hourglass figures; your sand just settles in different places.

We always think that we're going to be young forever, and now when I wake up, I need to stretch, and I need to have my glass of water and be cognizant of what I'm doing with my body.

Life is too short, and I need to eat. I am my meanest when I haven't had a meal.

There are fewer and fewer roles that I haven't done already, or archetypes that I haven't played, and to break out of that box, the most interesting stuff is television.

The most I like about cooking is eating what someone else has cooked.

The misperception about the South is that everybody is racist, and all black people are victims, that what was prevalent in the '60s is only relegated to the South.

The statement that I made and that I think I will continue to make is that racism and bigotry isn't just relegated to the Southern region; it permeates the history of our nation. It's not to say that we haven't made progress. Obviously we have with our first African American president, and I never thought that would happen in my lifetime.

Women drive box office.

Do I feel that white directors have to tell only white stories? No. Do I feel that black filmmakers should only tell stories about black people? No. If we say that, then that means Asian people cannot write about anybody but Asians. I don't think a woman should only write about women.

People want to see something that isn't necessarily somebody walking around in a superhero costume.

People want to see more diversity. That's why you have the Kevin Hart making $17 million dollars on a holiday weekend.

I'm definitely neurotic. I don't cross streets and stuff.

I want to be proactive in bringing about change and enlightening people.

I'm excited that I get to do what I love, and I'm benefiting through projects that speak to me.