I never thought I would have an opportunity to act in the United States, and continue to expand my career outside of Europe. To be honest, my reality is bigger than I would have ever dared to dream.
You have to have the passion. I could not live if I wasn't an actor. If you're just in it for beautiful dresses and movie stars, then I think you should not be an actor.
I'm not a very good impersonator, my friends maybe, but not famous people.
People should get married at the end of the road, not the beginning.
I'm European, small, dainty - but I actually consider myself more of a tomboy.
It's fun being one of the boys. It's fun to have a character that's rough and gets down and dirty and not to be this precious girl who just sits in the corner and just sort of stands by the action.
I don't have to work just to work anymore. More interesting parts come my way, so I can afford to say, 'I don't want to make that.'
I don't make movies thinking: 'Oh, this is going to be a huge box-office hit.'
I don't want to live my life in a five-star hotel. That's not real life to me. You can't appreciate it.
I don't obsess about my weight. I just know I've got to watch it when my pants feel tight.
I don't have any romantic ideas about marriage. Trust me. A white dress... ? No. It's not something for me.
I grew up with classical music when I was a ballet dancer. Now when I have to prepare an emotional scene, to cry or whatever, I listen to sonatas. Vivaldi and stuff. It's just beautiful to me.
My sport is biking. I'm not much of a gym person, but I like being outside - hiking, canoeing, camping.
I don't want to let my life as a woman pass me by. There's a time to work, there's a time to be young and crazy, and there should be a time to enjoy motherhood. I'm actually looking forward to that.
I consider myself a 'local' actor in France. I started out in France, I went to drama school in France and the French film community was very welcoming to me when I was a young actress.
I don't know about style. I know about my personal style.
A well-cut dress is my personal style. I definitely like it classic; less is more. The thing I despise most is vulgarity.
Sometimes you can write a great scene, but when you're actually in a situation and it doesn't work, you have to be flexible enough to make it work for you.
It's fun being one of the boys. It's fun to play a character that's rough and gets down and dirty and not to be this precious girl who just sits in the corner and just sort of stands by the action.
When you are in a relationship, you want the other person to appreciate the things you like. It sounds superficial, but it's nice.
It's taken me a long time to realize that my own life is far more interesting than any part I'll ever play.
I'm intrigued more and more by complex female characters because I'm more in touch with myself. I realize how screwed up or complex I am. And I'm flattered that, little by little, more and more directors want to meet me.
I don't believe in marriage. I believe in a commitment that you make in your heart. There's no paper that will make you stay.
I'm not one of those women who thinks beauty is a curse.
What you wear is such an expression of who you are. That's like someone picking out who I'm going to date!
People always think I’m dainty when they meet me, but I’m really not. I’m very German – we’re not made out of sugar.
I like to stay fit by being generally active.
Family is becoming more and more important to me.
When I turned 30, I realized how ignorant I really was. I always thought I had a very accomplished life.
I grew up loving actresses or actors who were very classy but who seemed a little bit mysterious because you couldn't grasp what they're really thinking.
I've worked with actors who were very helpful and a lot better than I was.
I'm not a snob.
I consider myself a 'local' actor in France. I started out in France, I went to drama school in France and the French film community was very welcoming to me when I was a young actress.
In between films I like to travel and hope to visit every continent before I become a mother.
It's taken me a long time to realize that my own life is far more interesting than any part I'll ever play.
I'm not one of those women who thinks beauty is a curse.
I don't have to work just to work anymore. More interesting parts come my way, so I can afford to say, 'I don't want to make that.'
Being German, I think we don't really express a lot of things.
I like the idea of accessibility, coming from a lower-middle-class background myself, I feel like beauty and products should be accessible to all women over the world.
You can learn any accent you want. It's a fascinating thing.
I feel as if sometimes women can't deal with what's going on and they have no one around who actually understands.
When I was younger - it might be a romantic idea - I always thought I might go crazy.
I'm on time even when I try not to be.
Strong brows give me character.
What counts in Hollywood is box office. It doesn't really matter what people think of you as an actor because, as long as you have been in a movie that has made money, you will always get another job.
I'm not a very good impersonator, my friends maybe, but not famous people.
Modeling is so... not superficial. Well, I guess it is. But it's boring.
I know a lot of people think, 'She's so glamorous.' But that's really not me at all.
I don't want to live my life in a five-star hotel. That's not real life to me. You can't appreciate it.
I don't make movies thinking: 'Oh, this is going to be a huge box-office hit.'
Every actor you learn from, take something from everyone - big actor or not. Whether they're big movie stars or not doesn't really matter.
It's fun being one of the boys. It's fun to have a character that's rough and gets down and dirty and not to be this precious girl who just sits in the corner and just sort of stands by the action.
Berlin is still going through a transition since the Cold War - both in what used to be East and West Berlin. I can still sense the confusion and the struggle for identity there in the streets. There's a pulse to it.
You know, I might get married at 50 or 60, when it actually means something to say 'for the rest of my life.'
I'm European, small, dainty - but I actually consider myself more of a tomboy.
Yeah, to me, acting is very therapeutic. I get out a lot of anger and frustration.
I get offered a World War II movie at least once a week just because I speak German and was born there. I have always stayed away from it because I didn't want to be put into that box.
A lot of directors idealize their leading ladies or turn them into these objects of sexuality and beauty.
I think commitment is very important, particularly for me.
I see myself raising my children in Europe, probably in Paris.
I don't obsess about my weight. I just know I've got to watch it when my pants feel tight.
For exercise, I tend to like the outdoors. In Paris, I rent a bike in the street and cycle around, and in L.A. I live up in the hills so I go hiking a lot. I like to stay fit by being generally active.
I only dance when I go out.
I do watch what I eat, but not for weight reasons.
I'm very independent. I'm not sure how I'd deal with someone who wanted to be with me 24/7.
I have three goddaughters - I'm not sure why they trust me, because I have no experience with children - but I try.
I didn't grow up watching a lot of TV.
I went to a Catholic school, and I just rebelled.
I have a kind of boring personal life, to the paparazzi anyway, and I don't hang with the cool crowd.
I grew up with classical music when I was a ballet dancer. Now when I have to prepare an emotional scene, to cry or whatever, I listen to sonatas. Vivaldi and stuff. It's just beautiful to me.
You always have to challenge yourself or else you get soft. Right?
The only song I can sing is 'Lady in Red' so that must tell you how great it must have been.
Looking back at it now, I really feel like it was a gift because I don't know if I have the talent to become a prima ballerina. It's such a hard job to have. I don't have any regrets about it.
It must have been so impossible to think about it and dare to do that, so they feel compassionate for her. I don't think the movie would work otherwise.
I really feel like the first day I went to drama school and I went up on stage, that I found my vocation. It's kind of a cliched thing to say but I really feel like it was what I was meant to do.
I made a French film called 'Merry Christmas' which is a very European film. It's a World War I piece.
I love Nic Cage. He was so much fun to work with.
But quite honestly, personally, I was much more concerned - I mean, there's not much I can do about my appearance obviously other than spending four hours in hair and makeup.
I would do anything for a part, nearly anything. Being in movies doesn't mean being pretty.
In Paris, I rent a bike in the street and cycle around, and in L.A. I live up in the hills so I go hiking a lot.
I don't have any romantic ideas about marriage. Trust me. A white dress... ? No. It's not something for me.
Above all, I dislike vulgarity.
If you're with someone who makes you happy in your personal life, then you're happy with where you're at.
I do give myself a break in my personal life but I think in work, if you don't push yourself you get bored and want to do something else.
I find that classical music helps put me in a place that is very calming and allows me to express emotion through my body. I played clarinet as a child, so I guess I have a bit of a musical ear.
I play a curator, the most American part you can think of. My work is to protect the Declaration of Independence. I work at the National Archives in Washington.
I don't want to let my life as a woman pass me by. There's a time to work, there's a time to be young and crazy, and there should be a time to enjoy motherhood. I'm actually looking forward to that.
My sport is biking. I'm not much of a gym person, but I like being outside - hiking, canoeing, camping.
I am a better person when I let myself have the time for romance and for love.
You should be smart enough to know that you don't know everything. But you have to believe in yourself. I certainly do.
Life is more important than work.
With modeling, you pose. You want to look your best all the time. With acting, you have to be aware of the camera, but the more you show your imperfections, the better you're going to be.
I don't know about style. I know about my personal style.
Critics can be harsh and I think it's going to take me a long time to make people see what I have inside of me and that I really put my guts into movies and that I'm not superficial and that I'm not just a pretty face.
I think they went with the idea that people know the story pretty much- knowing that he's going to take her when she's going to go with him. Also, the movie is really focused on Achilles and Hector and their battles.
What I really tried to do with Helen was make her show this sad side of her. She was married off at 16, was so young and living in this castle that can't leave because of how she looks, and married to a man she hates and three times her age.
The ultimate art form of fashion is couture. I completely geek out when it comes to couture. It shows fashion as it used to be. I don't know how many people can actually afford the clothes, but in a way, that's beside the point.
I think Charlize Theron is just as good when she is looking really pretty in a movie as when she gains 10 pounds and puts on a nose. I applaud her - good for her that she doesn't care. But she's just as good, whether she's pretty or not.
I realized through my personal travels how little I know about certain conflicts, because I was too vain or self-absorbed to ask the questions. That's been the focus while I'm in my thirties - to become an accomplished woman, rather than some actress.
I find period pieces really difficult to get my head around. How can we know what it must have been like to be in Nazi Germany in 1944? The reality weighs on me because I feel like you want to try and honor what happened, but how can you truly know? I have never lived in a war or lost anyone.
I truly, genuinely like clothes. Making them is an art form, and wearing them is a form of self-expression. I find it very emotional because I can remember moments in my life - my mood, how I felt - through these clothes.
Sometimes it takes courage and experience to allow yourself to actually go into being someone that you're not, and it's the most liberating thing to let go. I do think that's why I love acting - it's being someone that you're not. And sometimes you're really scared of it, and then once you let yourself go there, it's the best thing ever.
