Quotes

[on her approach to characters] Until I have the clothing, I don't know who the character is.

[reflecting on her career] I have not made a career; I have not given that much thought. When I first started, I just wanted to be a good actress. My voice was wrong; I could not move around, I tried to improve with lessons. Then I was lucky enough to meet [Claude] Chabrol.

[on Gabriel Axel] Gabriel's enthusiastic, like an enchanted child, and that is very stimulating. There is no fear. He eases you into a state of total confidence. Actors, we're like children, you know. And he had such a love for this subject, there was necessarily a great joy in working with him to make Babette come alive.

[on Luis Buñuel] Buñuel was a child. A naughty child, a rascal.

[on her relationship with Luis Buñuel] If I could have met him during the war, and if I were 18 or 20, he could have made me turn my family into the Nazis. He could do whatever he wanted. I was fascinated by him, I would have done anything he told me to. It was scary.

[1978 interview] The French people used to be able to enjoy life. But in the last few years they have become so depressed and complaining. It is sad. They complain about the government and they keep the same government. Usually when people complain enough, they insist on change. But the French seem to enjoy their misery.

[on the failure of The Black Bird (1975)] I didn't understand what happened on the picture. Everyone was fighting: George [Segal], the director and writer, Davie [David] Giler, the producer, Ray Stark. It's so difficult to do a good film even if the people are getting along well. If you have fights every day, it can't help.

[making a comparison between Claude Chabrol and Luis Buñuel] Both of them know exactly where to put the camera, which is rare in directors. They are different in their work, however. Buñuel is much more demanding. He knows exactly what he wants and he gets it. He doesn't like actors, though he does like people. As long as you do your job well, he approves of you. Chabrol likes actors too much. He is not demanding enough and we have fights over this. Other actors enjoy working with him more than I do; he is nicer to them than he is to me. He wins of course. He is gifted and he is my husband.

[on France] We are a very sensuous country. With fashion, we speak to sight; with cuisine, we speak to taste; with perfume, we appeal to the smell. I go for it!

[on Karl Lagerfeld] He inspires me a lot.

[on Claude Chabrol] Chabrol helped me to understand life.

If you don't suffer, you don't understand the suffering of others. That is my secret garden.

[on working in Canada, 1978 interview] On one hand, it's America. The buildings, the streets, the cars, the stones, the sirens, the way the telephones ring. Yet the people are not so American. They're more European somehow than the people in New York and Hollywood. You know, being French, I had no idea what to expect here. People in France know nothing of Canada, except the Olympics, lately a bit of politics and, of course, the baby seals. I was surprised to see so many Chinese and Portuguese here. I expected only, well, Canadians.

[on shooting Blood Relatives (1978) in Canada] If you're going to make a film outside of France, it might as well be in English. The book is in English and the scene is a large American city and, besides, the film market these days is English. We tried making movies before that were shot in two languages, but it doesn't really work. So this one will be shot in English and then a French-dubbed print made later. Actually, it's not my first English-language film. Several years ago I made The Black Bird (1975) in Hollywood with George Segal- it was a remake of the The Maltese Falcon (1941)- and more recently I made "The Twist" [The Twist (1976)] with Bruce Dern, who cannot and does not want to speak a word for French.

[on ageism in movie industry] Men are flesh-oriented and they like their flesh fresh. After a certain age the only parts are mad women or saintly mothers who aren't really part of the action. For them women over 40 aren't sexual objects.

[on meeting Claude Chabrol for the first time] God . . . I needed so much a father and I admired him so much, I thought he was perfect.

Acting did not come naturally to me.

If I could only act the way I make salad dressing.

[on her mother's opposition to her acting dreams] She was afraid of everything so she was afraid of me becoming an actress - no security like the civil service.