Quotes

Quotes

• “A Bug’s Life (1998). Wasn’t that the Linda Tripp Story?”

• “Actors have no color. That`s the art form.”

• “An actress can only play a woman. I’m an actor, I can play anything.”

• “Any Motion Picture Award program would give a big hand to Bob Barker. I have to come to; because that`s very big, and Bob told me he was surprised at what happened. See, you never know, you never know!”

• “As one who works inside and outside the system, I’ve come to understand that distribution is a key component.”

• “Good evening, loyal subjects. I am the African queen, … Some of you may know me as the virgin queen, but I can’t imagine who.”

• “I am an artist, art has no color and no sex.”

• “I am the American Dream. I am the epitome of what the American Dream basically said. It said you could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”

• “I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities.”

• “I believe that we keep the circle. The circle doesn’t break, it just reinvents. The other thing is, I just love the idea that I could go be a princess from Greenland in the movies and it’s cool. There’s no one to say, no, you can’t be from Greenland. There’s no one saying, you can’t be from Hungary. So the idea that you can go into the past, the present and the future, you know, I just think it’s too cool.”

• “I did it because, frankly, I couldn`t get any other work then. I liked the show, so I asked if I could be on it. As a matter of fact, I asked twice. The first time, I sent a message to LeVar Burton asking him to tell the producers that I would really like to be on the show. He got the message to the producers and they said, “Yeah, right.

• Whoopi wants to do “Star Trek”. One of the members [Gates McFadden] left the show and I heard about it, so I approached the show`s producers again and said, “Listen, I don`t know if you know it or not, but I`ve been trying for a long time now to get on this show.” They said LeVar had told them about it and they thought he was kidding. I told them I can`t do all the episodes but I would like to do some of them. “Can I have the job?” They finally said, “Sure, we`ll build you a bar”. And they built me Ten-Forward. I got to go in and be really sage and wear great hats. I also got to hang out with some extraordinary people, like Patrick Stewart, LeVar and Jonathan Frakes.”

• “I don’t have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation.”

• “I don’t know if I’m the one who should be commenting on the situation. I can’t complain about the amount of work that’s out there. I am black. But I didn’t become black yesterday. I’m black and I’m getting the work and I’m doing some good things, but I realize many black actors and actresses are not being given the opportunities. The industry has got to stop thinking in terms of black and white and has to start thinking in terms of who is right, regardless of color, for the role.”

• “I don’t like driving very much. That makes me very unhappy, because I scream a lot in the car, but other than that, life is actually pretty good.”

• “I don’t look like Halle Berry. But chances are, she’s going to end up looking like me.”

• “I don’t really view communism as a bad thing.”

• “I grew up in a time when it would never have occurred to anyone to tell me there was anything I couldn’t do.”

• “I grew up in Manhattan, in New York, a place called Chelsea. And I grew up around lots of different people. So we all grew up speaking a smattering of Greek, Italian, Spanish, Indian, Chinese, Yiddish. I had a great time. There were all sorts of things to play with and to go and be part of. Which now you can do on interactive things like this. You couldn’t go and talk to Leonard Bernstein, you could only go watch him conduct. Something I’m very sorry for.”

• “I knew as soon as I hit that light. I was waving! It’s always been. It’s as much a part of my whole being as breathing. I always knew this was it. I didn’t know it was going to be like this, you know. But I always knew that I wanted to act.”

• “I know I`m never going up, for real, in anybody`s rocket ship. I know this because I hate to fly. Gene Roddenberry`s vision always included a multi-ethnic group of people. I thought that was pretty amazing. Being on “Star Trek” has been a great way to sort of expand on the universe and be a part of it.” (1994 interview)

• “I think I’m one of those people who was affected, really, truly, by everybody that I met, in a very magical kind of way, you know. I feel a bit like the golden child. But you only know that when you look back, and see the people who touched you and how friends, and camp counselors, and people who denied your humanity, that you overcame, you know. All those people who said you couldn’t, and you shouldn’t, and you won’t, and you will never — and you did. All those people affected me, and went into making me the sum total of what I became, and what I’ve become.”

• “I told her I would play a Venetian blind, dirt on the floor, anything.” (about Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple”, in which Goldberg eventually played a leading role).

• “I used my imagination to make the grass whatever color I wanted it to be.”

• “I want Carl Sagan to explain the sky to me.”

• “If every American donated five hours a week, it would equal the labor of 20 million full-time volunteers.”

• “I’m a big old egoistical baby and that’s okay. I can accept it.”

• “I’m fighting the label of “Black” actress simply because it’s very limiting in people’s eyes, especially people who are making movies.”

• “It’s as much a part of my whole being as breathing. I always knew this was it. I didn’t know it was going to be like this, you know. But I always knew that I wanted to act.”

• “Most of all, I dislike this idea nowadays that if you’re a black person in America, then you must be called African-American. Listen, I’ve visited Africa, and I’ve got news for everyone: I’m not an African. The Africans know I’m not an African. I’m an American. This is my country. My people helped to build it and we’ve been here for centuries. Just call me black, if you want to call me anything.”

• “My family is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic. I don’t believe in man-made religions.”

• “Nobody ever encouraged me in this business. I encouraged myself. I was a very dull and shy child. I was the last person you would expect to be a success in this business. But I always felt if I kept going something would happen. But I even surprised myself at times. When I was doing ensemble theater and comedy work, I felt I had some talents. But when I started doing my shows in Berkeley and found that I could be funny on my own, I was shocked.”

• “None of the stuff I`ve done will ever cure cancer. It`s entertainment and some of it has been better entertainment than others. Ghost (1990) is a good little movie, like Jumpin` Jack Flash (1986), which I`ve changed my mind about and am finally able to watch. Burglar (1987) and Clara`s Heart (1988) are good little movies. There`s also a couple I don`t care for. The Telephone (1988) read brilliantly but was cockadoo on the screen. I`m also not crazy about Fatal Beauty (1987); it could have been a whole lot better. I`ve done good stuff and bad stuff. That`s what careers are all about.”

• “Normal is in the eye of the beholder.”

• “Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.”

• “Sister Act has grown up a little and has expanded, as all things going from the cinema to the stage have to. In any case, Sister Act for me was 20 years ago, so you can’t repeat that. You want something – and someone – who is brand new, fresh and exciting.”

• “Sitting at the table during Color Purple and looking up and suddenly realizing I was acting in front of Steven Spielberg, was pretty cool. It was pretty good. Because it was like, suddenly, I got it. I was there. I was in a movie. Not only was I in a movie, but I had a big part in the movie, you know. And I just started laughing, and laughing.”
• “That`s the thing about Mother Nature, she really doesn`t care what economic bracket you`re in.”

• “The art of acting is to be other than what you are.”

• “The connections between us is family. Its just family. And its unshakable, you know. Because you look around and you see a great part of your active adult life. Great part of my active adult life was spent with the cast and crew of “Star Trek”.”

• “Walker told black women that they don’t have to be less than they are capable of being, … I try to uphold that standard.”

• “We`re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”

• “We’re born with success. It is only others who point out our failures, and what they attribute to us as failure. I think the idea that you know who your inner self is on a daily basis, because… you know. What’s good for you 25 years ago may not be good for you now. So, to keep in touch with that, I think that’s the first ingredient for success. Because if you’re a successful human being, everything else is gravy, I think.”

• “What I am is a humanist before anything — before I’m a Jew, before I’m black, before I’m a woman. And my beliefs are for the human race — they don’t exclude anyone.”

• “When you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they`ll remember and be kind to someone else. And it`ll become like a wildfire.”

• “You can say whatever you want about me, but talk about my daughter and I’ll beat your ass up.”

• “You look at the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and you see things flying up in the air…this is where everything goes that didn’t land.”

• “You’ve got to vote for someone. It’s a shame, but it’s got to be done.”