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Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson Quotes

Actress

Mara Wilson, born on July 24, 1987, is an American actress. She began her acting career at a young age and gained widespread popularity for her remarkable performances in several well-known films. Her notable works include the 'Home Alone' series and 'Little Women'.

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All Children People Ifs Thinking Want Way Knows Feels Acting Kind

Famous Mara Wilson Quotes

“As an adult, most of my friends are women . . . they, too, had that moment when they realized they were all the “other girls,” and that every girl in the world is, too.”

Women Friendship Girls

Book:Where Am I Now?

Source: Where Am I Now?

“A lot of men wonder what a woman wants. The answer is power. There are many ways to get it, but the easiest way is to tear other girls down. Any girl can play that game, but there's no way to win, except not to play at all.”

Power Feminism Girls

Book:Where Am I Now?

Source: Where Am I Now?

“I understand that comes with the territory, and that celebrities have a contract with the public: they get to be the target of jealousy and criticism, and sometimes admiration, in exchange for money and recognition. But I let that contract run out a while ago. It is not my job to be pretty, or cute, or anything that someone else wants me to be.”

Book:Where Am I Now?

Source: Where Am I Now?

“In the book, you lost your powers. In the movie, you chose not to use them as much. I guess I did a little of both.”

Growing Up Adulthood Mara Wilson

Book:Where Am I Now?

Source: Where Am I Now?

“Mean girls come in all shapes and sizes. Some are blond cheerleaders, and some are Francophile brunettes who love Tim Burton and write song lyrics on their Converse. It was rarely the hellhounds who said anything mean to me; they expressed no real malice toward me other than the occasional eye roll. They were at the top and had nothing to gain by pushing me around. The ones who scared me, who still scare me, are the girls who see all other girls as competition, who see themselves as the persecuted ones, the ones whom the pretty and popular girls hate. When you believe you're persecuted, you will believe anything you do is justified.”

Book:Where Am I Now?

Source: Where Am I Now?

“Here is something no real celebrity will ever tell you: film acting is not very fun. Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the directors eyes, you get it right does not allow for very much creative freedom... In terms of sheer adrenaline, film has absolutely nothing on theater.”

Doe Real Eye Film Fun Term Acting Creative Directors Theater Sheer Absolutely Nothing Adrenaline Creative Freedom Film Acting

Author:Mara Wilson

“I didn't want to be a former child actor for the rest of my life, although in some ways I suppose I am. I am going to be that.”

Way Want Children Actors Former Child Actors

Author:Mara Wilson

“Considering all the legal hassle child stars can be, I won't be surprised when they are phased out by CGI children voiced by adult actors.”

Children Actors Stars Adults Considering Cgi Hassle

Author:Mara Wilson

“Film can be exciting, but more often, it's tedious.”

Film Exciting Tedious

Author:Mara Wilson

“If I ever have children of my own, they will read Matilda. They will watch the movie. And you can bet they will see Matilda: The Musical.”

Ifs Children My Own Watches Musical

Author:Mara Wilson

“I still get recognized. It's flattering, but it can be uncomfortable. Maybe because it only seems to happen when I'm looking and feeling crappy.”

Stills Feelings Seems Happens Uncomfortable Flattering

Author:Mara Wilson

“I think I might like to try film again just as an experiment, but I know that I could never do the mainstream thing again.”

Thinking Knows Trying Might Film Experiments Mainstream

Author:Mara Wilson

“No, you will never see me on 'Dancing With the Stars.' Sorry.”

Stars Dancing Sorry Dancing With The Stars

Author:Mara Wilson

“Danny DeVito later told me that he knew he wanted me for 'Matilda' the second I walked in the door. I'm not sure if this is true, or if he was just being nice, but I was thrilled when I got it.”

Ifs Wanted Nice Doors Not Sure Just Being Being Nice

Author:Mara Wilson

“The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare.”

Film Directors Let Me Best Times Film Set

Author:Mara Wilson

“I had people in 'Entertainment Weekly' talking about how they wanted to throttle me because they thought I was too disgustingly cute, as if that were my fault, you know, as if that was my fault, not the fault of directors and producers and such.”

People Ifs Knows Wanted Talking Directors Faults Entertainment Producers Cute Throttle

Author:Mara Wilson

“I'd rather be known for my accomplishments, and for things that I really do take pride in, rather than known for this doll-like image I had when I was a child.”

Children Known Pride Accomplishment Dolls

Author:Mara Wilson

“I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to go to the hospital after slicing my finger while trying to cut a Kaiser roll in half.”

Trying Half Cutting Fingers Reactions Dumb Injury Hospitals Athletic Cautious Ankles Allergic Really Dumb Allergic Reactions

Author:Mara Wilson

“I don't have any plans to pursue film acting. It's not my thing anymore, if it ever was. Yes, I do still act sometimes. But when I do, it's with people I know and trust, people who respect me as a person and appreciate what I have to offer.”

People Ifs Knows Persons Stills Sometimes Film Acting Plans Offers Appreciate Pursue Respect Me Film Acting

Author:Mara Wilson

“I remember feeling enormous pressure because I didn't want to be Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was Shirley Temple, and I didn't ever feel like I could live up to that.”

Want Feels Feelings Remember Pressure Enormous Temples

Author:Mara Wilson

“I think if I could do it over again - as much as I loved meeting the people I did on the films after 'Matilda' - I wish that I had stopped after 'Matilda.' I wish that I had just focused on my own life for a while.”

People Ifs Thinking Film Wish My Own Meetings Focused If I Could My Own Life

Author:Mara Wilson

“That's my suggestion for kids who want to act, by the way: Make sure it's really your choice, get out of it when it stops being fun, and get an education.”

Way Want Kids Choices Fun Suggestions

Author:Mara Wilson

“The celebrity aspect is nothing short of ridiculous, and auditioning is brutal and dehumanizing. Every time I see a pretty young girl on the subway reading sides for an audition, my only thought is, 'Man, am I glad I'm not doing that anymore.' I never feel nostalgia, just relief.”

Men Feels Young Girl Reading Sides Aspect Nostalgia Ridiculous Glad Relief Brutal Auditions Subway

Author:Mara Wilson

“I'm originally from southern California, so I, like, say 'like', like, a lot. I've been trying to scrub any traces of Valley Girl from my speech since I moved to New York, but it's, like, totally way harder than anyone thinks, you know?”

Thinking Knows Way Trying Girl New York Speech Harder Moved California Valleys Southern Southern California Valley Girl

Author:Mara Wilson

“People who meet me as an adult are often surprised that I'm alive and have never been in prison or rehab. Sometimes they're disappointed I'm not cooler.”

People Sometimes Alive Adults Prison Disappointed Rehab I'm Alive

Author:Mara Wilson

“Actually, I do like pink clothes, but it's not because I'm girly, it's because I'm the reincarnation of Oscar Wilde.”

Clothes Reincarnation Oscars Girly Wilde

Author:Mara Wilson

“I'm surprised by how much I remember.”

Author:Mara Wilson

“It is strange to have everybody in the world still think of you as a child.”

Thinking World Children Stills Strange Think Of You

Author:Mara Wilson

“A lot of child actors think they need to re-invent themselves, especially young women. Usually what they do is they adopt a sort of overt sexuality. It's fine if they want to do that, but a lot of times I think they feel obliged to do that, and that is something that I don't think anybody should feel obliged to express.”

Ifs Thinking Want Needs Feels Should Children Young Actors Fine Sexuality Young Women Obliged Child Actors

Author:Mara Wilson

“People think I'm smarter than I am.”

People Thinking Smarter

Author:Mara Wilson

“Sure, I love to read, and I love to learn, but I was always nerdy that way.”

Way Nerdy Love To Read

Author:Mara Wilson

“I was never a prodigy. I was never a child genius.”

Children Genius Prodigies

Author:Mara Wilson

“Puberty was definitely difficult for me. I remember my friends and I looking forward to puberty because it seemed exciting at first. You read Judy Blume and you think, "This is kind of cool." But when it actually started happening to me, I was terrified.”

Thinking Firsts Kind Remember Difficult Happenings My Friends Exciting Terrified Looking Forward Puberty

Author:Mara Wilson

“You always worry that everybody is secretly talking about you behind your back, everybody is secretly making fun of your voice, your figure, the way that you are during puberty, but it turned out, in real life, everybody was. On movie sets, they were all talking about these things, because they had to.”

Way Real Fun Voice Behinds Talking Worry Figures Real Life Puberty Movie Sets Behind Your Back

Author:Mara Wilson

“When you're an actor, your body isn't your own. Your body is part of a tool that you use. Everybody else there is using you as a tool, so they have access to those things, too.”

Use Body Actors Tools Access Your Body

Author:Mara Wilson

“Children change a lot in terms of personality. Camaraderie that you feel with somebody might not be there a year later.”

Feels Years Children Might Term Personality Camaraderie

Author:Mara Wilson

“People like to make children into little grown-ups.”

People Children Littles

Author:Mara Wilson

“People seem to forget what it was like to be a child. I think it's partly because they want to forget, because it usually wasn't as good as you thought it was, and so you want to skip over those things, and not have to relate to that anymore.”

People Thinking Want Children Seems Forget Relate Skip

Author:Mara Wilson

“I can't even count how many times I did interviews with people and they asked me if I had a boyfriend. Keep in mind that I was, I guess, mild to moderately famous from ages 6 to 13. Of course I didn't have a boyfriend then. I didn't even have a camp boyfriend then.”

People Ifs Mind I Can Age Courses Interviews Camps

Author:Mara Wilson

“It's easier to see children as mini adults than it is to imagine or to remember what it is to be a child again.”

Children Remember Imagine Easier Adults

Author:Mara Wilson

“I've always really loved stories told from the point of view of children.”

Children Stories Views Point Of View

Author:Mara Wilson

“I didn't trust adults because I thought they were all kind of corrupted. I thought children were pure and innocent, and that was inherently better. I guess I was a philosophical child.”

Kind Children Pure Adults Philosophical Innocent All Kinds

Author:Mara Wilson

“I've been accused of being pretentious and insufferable, and I don't really know what I can say about that. I never got good grades in school, but I did read the dictionary for fun. That was just the kind of stuff that I liked to do. I can't apologize for that.”

Knows Kind I Can School Fun Stuff Grades Apologizing Accused Dictionary Pretentious Grades In School Insufferable Good Grades

Author:Mara Wilson

“I knew I didn't want to put anything down in writing about the first time that I had sex. I knew that I didn't want to do that.”

Want Writing Firsts Sex First Time

Author:Mara Wilson

“The thing is, with writing, it's form or content. You need to write about something interesting or you need to write about it in an interesting way.”

Way Needs Writing Form Interesting Something Interesting Interesting Ways

Author:Mara Wilson

“Nobody cares about that. I do have guys every now and then who say - it's always guys by the way, it's never women - who say, "You were my childhood crush, can we date?" And I'm like, "There's something kind of creepy about that. Do you hear yourself?"”

Way Kind Care Guy Childhood Crush Now And Then Creepy Nobody Cares

Author:Mara Wilson

“My grades in high school were not very good. I was that kind of perfectionist that figured if you can't do it perfectly, why do it at all?”

Ifs Kind School High School Very Good Grades Perfectionist

Author:Mara Wilson

“Do people think I'm cool because I was in a movie when I was a child? No. Well, maybe a little bit more than they used to. There's definitely a nostalgia factor.”

People Thinking Wells Children Littles Used Bits Little Bit Nostalgia Factors

Author:Mara Wilson

“People view child actors the same way that girls treat their Barbie dolls.”

People Way Children Girl Actors Views Treats Dolls That Girl Barbie Child Actors Barbie Dolls

Author:Mara Wilson

“There's a reason that girls cut off all their Barbie doll's hair and dye it and do things like that. I destroyed my Barbie dolls, and I know other girls did as well. And that's kind of the way they see kids movies and child actors in kids movies, as something that you've moved on from. It's babyish.”

Knows Way Wells Kind Children Reason Kids Girl Actors Cutting Hair Moved Destroyed Dolls That Girl Moved On Other Girl Barbie Child Actors Barbie Dolls Kids Movie

Author:Mara Wilson

About the Author

Born: July 24, 1987
Known for: Actress
Quotes: 90

Related Topics

Children People Ifs Thinking Want Way Knows Feels Acting Kind

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Where Am I Now?Related source material

Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental FameRelated source material

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