Gillian Anderson

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    • Gillian Anderson: Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.
    • Gillian: I hope everyone that is reading this is having a really good day. And if you are not, just know that in every new minute that passes you have an opportunity to change that.
    • Gillian: After I did nine years of a television series, I didn't want to do anything really that involved going to a set and being in front of a camera for quite a while. And when I did start to want to do things, I wanted to focus more on film.
    • Gillian: I go through periods when I feel confident and then I'm apt to be impulsive. But then I go through other times where I lose that confidence and I just feel like a total hypocrite. For a lot of my life I've had this feeling of something being wrong. It's hard to describe, but it's like having a sense of dread from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. There's this constant feeling that an accident is about to happen, or that I've done something bad that someone is going to find out.
    • Gillian: When I look back, there are various things I did that make me cringe. But then I'm sure that in my sixties I'll look back at how I am now and also cringe. I just think that's inevitable. What was weird about my childhood was that nobody else in my family was remotely like me. They were incredibly laid-back, but I was just like this ball of fire. I asked my mother about it recently: where did it all come from? And she said, "I have no idea. We just sat back with our mouths open and watched you go."
    • Gillian: (revealing she didn't like starring in the X-Files but was locked into her contract) I couldn't get out of it. I didn't have a choice. I had to sign a contract for five-and-a-half-years before I even went to my first audition - when I didn't know if I'd got the part. Back then I was all innocent and I thought, 'Wow that sounds wonderful.' But then I realised I'd be in a Canadian wood working 16 hours a day for nine months a year. I stayed so long was because the only way I could get more money was to commit myself to doing it for another couple of years.
    • Gillian: You know, one of the most amazing things about working on this show and people's passion about this show and about these characters... there have been numerous times where people from Make A Wish Foundation have come to visit, or from the Starlight Foundation have come to visit, where we have gotten notes from families with children suffering from life threatening diseases who... have found a reason to live again simply by watching the show for whatever reason that is, you know, who have become passionate about something for the first time in their lives, who have.... you know, there have been numerous times where we have gotten requests from people to come to set who are literally dying and there was one girl in particular, whose blood count was really really low and when she had been accepted to come to set, her blood count actually started to rise and get stronger and she got stronger and she's getting better because she came to visit set and whatever that is, I mean, it's just... it's unbelievable! And it's... I'm sure there are other shows that have that experience as well, but if there is anything that makes doing this work worthwhile, it's that fact and that reality and whatever it is, it's just a miracle so I appreciate it.
    • Gillian: (On her daughter, Piper) You know what she said recently? We were playing Scrabble, and we were playing for a while and she was kind of getting bored and then I put down the word 'smug.' And she goes, "Smug?" And I said, "Yeah, it's a word actually." And she goes, "Self-satisfied. I know, mom." If I were to give a definition for smug, I'd be like, "Well, it's kinda like when... umm... you know, when you're... you know.." And I'd come up with something that would be like this long. (Holds out hands) And she just gave a perfect definition.
    • Gillian: (After being asked if she's ever fallen off of the apple boxes she has to stand on for some scenes of The X-Files) Ummm... I actually have fallen off those blocks many times. There's actually a lot of scenes where... where I'm walking up towards the camera and, all of a sudden, I just kind of disappear out of frame, you know?
    • Gillian: Sugar. Sugar, it just makes my heart race. It makes my moods swing up and down. I don't like myself on sugar. I like being kind of even. So I quit coffee this year too.
    • Gillian: (From her 'Latest News' page): I am pregnant; which I have no doubt many of you know. And I am very excited. And I am very fat.
    • Gillian: (On her pregnancy with her daughter, Piper) I mean, honestly, I cannot remember P kicking! Was it the hours, the FX smoke, the dummies with maggots eating their eyes out? What distracted me from such an important and momentous experience!?
    • Gillian Anderson: I want to be Harry Potter. I want to go to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I want to do it all because Harry lives in the coolest world. But my daughter, who so badly wants to fly, would have to live there with me.
    • Gillian: (After reading The X-Files script) I couldn't put the script down!
    • Gillian Anderson (About the episode she wrote, All Things): It was an amazing experience. I didn't realize how much I was going to enjoy it. It was a process of doing something that you've never done before, that you are both exhilarated by and terrified by at the same time.
    • Gillian: My whole belief system is that our paths are drawn for us. I believe in reincarnation. I believe we're here to learn and grow. ... We choose how we come into this life based on what it is we have to learn. Some people have harder lessons than others.
    • Gillian: (On her 38th birthday) I have just heard about the $8,523 that has been raised for the Alinyiikira Junior School four-classroom block and I cannot believe everyone's generosity. What a fantastic Birthday gift! THANK YOU!!!
    • Gillian: I believe people are in our lives for a reason. We're here to learn from each other.
    • Gillian: Let's practice what we preach, and with the acceptance that we expect from others, let's stop being so damn judgmental and crucifying everyone who doesn't fit in to our boxed-in perception of what is right.
    • Gillian: I also respond very strongly to characters I have not done before ... something I can really sink my teeth into, and what's scary, and what terrifies me, because that's where I need to go.
    • Gillian: I try in my life to follow my heart in terms of what moves me and what is important to me. I know what it feels like to do things that are soul-decaying, and a lot of the large aspects of life in Hollywood, in the stereotypical way, I find unbelievably soul-decaying, and I choose, albeit frustratingly to other people in my life, not to expose myself to too much of that.
    • Gillian: Somehow, I have no idea how the transition was made from wanting to be an archeologist or a marine biologist, to wanting to be an actress, but it just kind of happened.
    • Gillian: I was arrested on graduation night for breaking and entering into the high school.
    • Gillian: First of all, I swore I'd never move to Los Angeles, and once I did, I swore I'd never do television. It was only after being out of work for almost a year that I began going in [to auditions] on some stuff that I would pray that I wouldn't get because I didn't want to be involved in it.
    • Gillian: (About her pregnancy) It was a bit of a bombshell for them [the Fox executives]. It wasn't in my contract not to get pregnant, but it is now.
    • Gillian: Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.
    • Gillian: So much of this world is based on illusion, temporariness, and disposability that I think it's essential that our closest relationships reflect what is real.
    • Gillian: People generally treat me like I'm very intelligent and really, I'm much less intelligent than she is. Scully is insanely intelligent.
    • Gillian: Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears.
    • Gillian: I truly believe that we can overcome any hurdle that lies before us and create the life we want to live. I have seen it happen time and time again.
    • Gillian: "I love it when women come up to me and tell me I'm a positive influence on their lives and the lives of their young daughters. That's a great feeling."
    • Gillian: "I am more spontaneous than my character..."
    • Gillian: "Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need."
    • From the yahoo chat, april 2000: Question: I would like to know what your dream role is--any character from any play or piece of literature that you could choose. Gillian: I have many. Many and none. I love some of the contemporary female roles that have been written in films. I loved all the characters in American Beauty and Shakespeare in Love and Magnolia. Historically, I'd love to do Lady MacBeth. I love to do Hedda Gabler. And eventually, I'd love to do Blanche.
    • Gillian Anderson: (About the movie It's a wonderful life You know, I could see It's a Wonderful Life over and over and over again. It's just something.. I have actually seen it over and over again. It's just so, um, human, so touching and, and wonderful. I didn't actually realise how much I loved it until I'd actually seen it, like 2 or 3 times, and I bought a copy of it, but yeah, that's a huge favourite of mine.
    • Gillian Anderson: (About the movie Wallace & Gromit) There's also Nick Park. I mean, Wallace and Gromit--I've been a fan for years and years, and actually I got kind of territorial when it started to become more mainstream, because it was like my little secret. (Laughs) I hated that everybody was finding out about it, but of course that's great for him.
    • Gillian Anderson: (About the movie Out Of Africa) The first and only film I ever watched over and over again was Out of Africa. I have an image of the house on the plantation that encapsulates my whole feeling for the movie, which has as much to do with Africa as it does with the idea of working in film. It seems like from the moment I saw Out of Africa I realized there were things I wanted to learn about. There had been a huge period when I'd had no interest in learning, and nothing anybody attempted to teach me would stay in my brain.
    • Gillian: You're only given as much as you can handle at any given time. Whether it's true or not, it gives you the strength.
    • Gillian: (About her pregnancy) My feet were swelling and I was exhausted, sleeping between scenes.
    • Gillian about her pregnancy: "During the first season, I didn't know who the hell I was, let alone who this character was. I feel stronger as a person in the world now. I remember, after going through the birthing process, feeling that no cut, no abrasions, no knock on the head will make me whine again."
    • Gillian about her daughter: "I can't imagine not having Piper."
    • Gillian: "[What fascinates me most about Lily Bart is] the journey that she goes on. No matter how many times I read the script, tears came to my eyes. There was just something about it that was so tragic. The way that Terence was able to transfer the novel to film, I think he did it very, very well. I honestly believe that our focus back then and today, is in the wrong place in this Western world. As long as we continue to put our focus [on material wealth] and not on the heart and in compassion for others and in the wealth of love and giving and understanding, we will continue to be faced with the same dilemmas that Lily is."
    • Gillian: (About the end of The X-Files) The fact of the matter is that I grew up during the course of the show. I started when I was 24 and ended at almost 34. That's almost a third of my life. There's a time for everything to end and I think this is the right time. I think everybody in their own way is excited about moving on to other things.
    • Gillian about the play play What the Night is For: "I loved being in London. But what I loved the most, I think, and what I learned from the most, was about the 'moment to moment' focus that takes place in live theater."
    • Gillian about Africa: "Christmas is normally my favorite holiday for all the cozy reasons and this year I will be driving across Africa in a very uncozy, unwintery vehicle with no room for presents or appropriate holiday cheer. It's not that I'm complaining! It's going to be fantastic - and I asked for it!"
    • Gillian about Africa: "I can remember very little and, on the other hand, what I do remember will forever stick out in my mind. The withering tortured bodies of AIDS orphans. The immediate change in energy from one African country to the next as one crosses the border. The terrifying and exhilarating rafting trip down the white waters of the Zambezi River. The friends along the way. The cards played anywhere and everywhere. And that landscape that fills a hole somewhere deep down in one's history."
    • Gillian about the next X-Files movie: "It does indeed appear that the XF movie will be underway in the next year but a lot has to happen between now and then and a lot can happen between now and then. But it looks promising. Chris does not want to reveal at this point who or what will be in it but I got the impression it's going to be one scary mother."

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