Evangeline lilly quotes

I just wanted friends. I just wanted people to like me. I just wanted for things to be simple and good. So, for five years I actively sought out mediocrity.

People initially think I'm a snob because I'm intensely private.

My introduction into Marvel world was Comic-Con 2014 where I really had to take a step back and go, 'What have I walked into? What is this place? It's wild, and there's all these crazy rockstars walking around - who are all older than me, which was really weird. I was like, 'I feel too old to be in a superhero movie,' and they're like 10 years older than me.

The directors did an amazing job and Josh Holloway is just he's just shining. I think that, of the people I started working with, he's one of the people I'm most impressed with. How he's grown and learned and he's been just stunning everyone with his performances.

Even if you're unhappy, just pretend that you're happy. Eventually, your smile will be contagious to yourself. I had to learn that, I used to think, 'I'm being fake,' but you know what? Better to be fake and happy than real and miserable.

As a filmmaker, you have to understand the essence of the book and tell the story you want to see on the screen, and hopefully please yourself - because you cant possibly please everyone.

To impress me, a guy has to be completely unaffected by my presence. If he wants to talk to me, talk to me; if he doesn't, don't.

I actually write as a passion, as something I actually am more passionate about than acting.

I don't know why, but the warmth and the comfort of flickering light help. And a fire, in the fireplace or on the beach, is very comforting. I think when you make something consistent and familiar, it helps. I light candles every single night in my home.

I think doing a female Elf in the Woodland realm was a bit safer, because we haven't met one of those yet.

I'm very sensitive. Emotionally, I bruise very easily. I'm a Leo, and this is very characteristic of our sign.

I got called and was told, "We'd like you to do The Hobbit", which was my favorite of all of them when I was a kid - "And we want you to play a character that's not in the books", I gulped and hesitated, but then I went, "These guys know this world, and they represent this world so well, that I actually think they've earned the right to have a little play."

I like fantasy. I like worlds where sometimes you need the special effects to make it come alive, but it's not so fun acting it.

Writing is my number one passion. I've written two novels. I've written a screenplay. I also write short stories and poetry.

If Americans could choose, would they choose to work on the infrastructure for cancer-causing oil power or would they choose to work on the infrastructure for health-reviving wind power?

I changed jobs like I changed shirts. It was something I just like to do - I like trying my hand at everything.

If you watch a film from beginning to end, with no women in it, it's really difficult.

I'm always changing things around. I have to change it all the time. I'm rearranging furniture and taking down paintings and putting up new ones, and buying new pieces of art.

I love my home. It's the only thing I really spend money on. I don't really spend a lot of money on anything else. No fancy cars. No designer clothes.

Every woman is after a kind of classy image.

I think I'm not always what I seem.

Outside of acting, the person that I admire the most is my mother.

I love the creative end of acting. But I hate fame.

My home is my castle, and I spend a lot of time nurturing it, redecorating - moving this and adjusting that, adding flowers and candles.

There's a massive part of me that can be bold and courageous...very strong and very assertive and independent, almost to a fault sometimes.

I cried myself to sleep wishing I was ugly because men leered and disrespected me.

I'm a very stubborn woman and I'm from a very stubborn family of headstrong women. I have sisters, so the women rule the coop in my house.

I was a good student, I was good at soccer, I was vice president of the student council, I was a pretty girl.

I tended to be a solitary young girl, and I still am. I would like to find a quiet corner and color in my coloring book. When I think back, I made that corner mine, not really caring about the rest of the house.

I always wear something slightly masculine.

Acting is something I appreciate, and I think it's been an amazing experience. But I'm not passionate about acting the way you probably should be to call yourself an actor.

I started to do everything I could to succeed, but found that the more successful I became, the less people liked me.

One of the great pleasures of working in Middle Earth is you get to be another being.

In your 20s you can be pretty, but you don't accomplish real beauty until you find wisdom and depth.

The way I've been able to embrace fame is by realizing that celebrity is just a means to send whatever message you want out into the world.

I don't want everyone to think of me as just 'that kid who called Jesse Jackson a communist in middle school.' That's why I decided to become a famous actress.

For me there's a need for balance - fulfilling the sensitive side, letting my guard down, holding back the warrior in me. And I have to be vulnerable which is very hard for me to do.

I'm a good Canadian girl. I miss all that good stuff. I miss tobogganing and I miss snowboarding, but I've also learned to surf and I've become a water baby which I used to be relatively terrified of the water and I kayak all the time now and I'm able to run year round on the beach which you can't obviously do in Canada.

Diets are a fool’s errand. I eat something sweet every day, whether it’s chocolate or a cookie. If I don’t, I guarantee you that there’s going to be a day every week when I’m going to stuff myself, especially if it’s PMS time.

I cried myself to sleep wishing I was ugly because men leered and disrespected me, because they assumed things about my mental capacity or my physical willingness based on the way I look.

A month and a half after my first audition, I won the role on Lost.

I wasn't actually going to see the original film [Lord of the Ring], because I didn't think it was possible that a film could represent the books appropriately. So I was protesting, and I wasn't going to see them. And then my family all took a jaunt together, the entire family, to see the movies, and were like, "What, you're just going to stay home?" So I saw the movies and was thoroughly impressed that Peter Jackson managed to make my vision of the book come to life, as well as my sister's and my father's, and my aunt's and my uncle's, everyone's.

I just like short hair on women, I think it's cool. And I have wanted to cut my hair for very many years, but being on contract with a television show for six years prevents you from doing that, and then being on contract with a cosmetic endorsement campaign prevents you from doing that again. So for eight years, I've had to have long, flowing locks. And I was just so sick and tired of long, flowing locks, so I chopped them.

When I am doing things around the house - when I'm decorating, setting up furniture, putting out a vase of flowers, lighting my candles, my mind is always thinking, "What do I need to do to make this space peaceful and restful and comfortable so that when people walk into it, aesthetically they're heightened and enlightened?"

It's not your circumstances that make or break your day. It's your attitude!

I am kind of prudish and I have very strict standards about how I present myself. But one of the things that I've always stood by is that women are beautiful and sexy. We shouldn't be afraid of that. [But] we need to make sure that we present that beauty and that sexiness in a way that says we are in control of our bodies. We're strong, we're classy, we're beautiful, powerful beings to be reckoned with, not victims.

To put it simply - you know, a lot of people believe that the benefit of this job is fame and fortune. I believe that you pay for the fortune through the fame. I don't buy into the notion that being famous is somehow a good thing, or an exciting thing, or a wonderful thing.

There are jobs to be created on both sides of the climate argument. Whether we are investing in oil or sun, coal or wind, gas or algae, the economy will be stimulated by the investment. The economy, unlike each of us, is not swayed by ideology.

I read every single letter. Some just break my heart. I've cried over letters that have come in, from young women and older women alike, saying to me, "You know, you made me want to stop crash dieting and just be healthy. You are my role model. I want to be like you."

If I were to live in Africa, serving the poor, the number-one thing I'd miss wouldn't be running water or electricity - it would be style... being able to get dressed up and feel beautiful.

My dad's side of the family are missionaries who are more comfortable sitting around in sweatpants than they are in a five-star restaurant. But those two influences converged in my life. My heart is in helping people and in the less materialistic side of things, but there's the side of me that's more polished. If I were to live in Africa, serving the poor, the number-one thing I'd miss wouldn't be running water or electricity—it would be style...being able to get dressed up and feel beautiful.

As an actress, and as a person, I really admire Diane Keaton. She's feisty, strong, beautiful and talented, and intelligent.

I made a conscious decision when I was about 17 years old to strive towards mediocrity. I completely abandoned the idea of grandeur and importance, and I wanted to be mediocre.

I like ambiguity. I think it's so much more interesting to play than an overtly good or an overtly evil person.

I'm very picky when it comes to men. I come across a man who I'm really attracted to about once every five years.

You can't have a movie with a group of people that are significant players in the story, that push forward the plot, without introducing at least one or two of them.

Money is the longest route to happiness.

I am who I am and I am what I am. And it's beautiful. And it's okay even if it doesn't look like the sexiest Victoria Secret model. It also boils down to my interactions with people.

If your home is peaceful, then you're going to go out in your day peacefully.

The people on my mum's side of the family are atheist intellectuals who are ueber-proper. My dad's side of the family are missionaries who are more comfortable sitting around in sweatpants than they are in a five-star restaurant. But those two influences converged in my life.

My family didn't have a lot of money, and I'm grateful for that. Money is the longest route to happiness.

I'm very proud of being a woman, and as a woman, I don't even like the word feminism because when I hear that word, I associate it with women trying to pretend to be men, and I'm not interested in trying to pretend to be a man. I don't want to embrace manhood, I want to embrace my womanhood.

I was a die-hard fan of these books [The Hobbit] before the films ever came out. And when I say die-hard, I wasn't the person who could speak Elvish, but I really loved them.

My character is different from all of the Elves you've met before, in that she's really young. And I keep telling journalists this because I've really focused on that in my performance. I'm trying to distinguish her from all of these incredibly sage and wise Elves that have lived for thousands of years.

Truthfully, I love being in the jungle. I love it when the make-up artists come to set, they come equipped with dirt and sweat. I spend my days climbing trees and I can crawl out of bed and walk on set and that's exactly all I have to look like.

Even though I'm resting I'm accomplishing something by sewing that shirt that I've been meaning to sew for weeks. And it's relaxing. It's so very meditative and quiet and enjoyable. But at least I'm producing something. I'm being productive in some way. I have a very hard time being completely idle.

Ironically, when I hit adolescence, I was approached about modeling and acting all the time. And, for five years, I said, "No, I'm not interested. I want a simple life, I don't want to be in the spotlight."

I think my style is very eclectic, because I love so many different things. And, that's true, too, in almost every aspect of my life. I can go from really edgy to tailored and professional, and I just love to change things up.

My bedroom is my sanctuary. It's the only place in the house that has a beautiful lush shag rug, which is my favorite.

I love getting older! I really believe that a woman doesn't reach her peak until her 40s.

I have to have nature around me. I love the earth and this insanely beautiful creation that we live in. I just think it's to be marveled at and appreciated. It gives us life.

I enjoy the idea that even though I'm resting, I'm accomplishing something by reading a book.

I have two roommates, so it's a challenge to keep the house the way I like.

When I pick a role, one of the things that I aspire to is that somebody's parent will come up to me after the film has come out and say, "My daughter idealizes that character. You're her hero." That's what I aim for. We're in the business of making heroes.

I know I can never work in a comedy because I can't keep a goddamn straight face.

I like to be around people who make me laugh. It's one of my favorite things on a set. I hate it when people take themselves serious in a film set.

As I grew older, I developed a very innate passion for art. I was actually pretty good at it.

When I was young I was soft spoken and a little bit timid and passive. My dream then was to be a ballerina or a figure skater - something very delicate.

I have these huge, pointed ears. They're like three times the size of Orlando Bloom's ears. And I think he has ear envy, I love my ears.

I don't know if any of you feel this way, but it's like eventually, you see a woman come on screen and you go, "Oh, thank God!" You just sort of need a break from all this testosterone, which happened, I think, in one of my films, The Hurt Locker. I was in it for like five minutes, and people were like, "You were in that movie!" And I was like, "Well, kind of." And they were like, "No, you were!" 'Cause they needed a woman!

I think one of the things that is easy to have happened in a superhero story is that the female character, whether she be a heroine or not, can often be the wart on the man.

I didn't grow up in a home that glorified Hollywood. We didn't watch TV. We didn't have a lot of magazines around.

I decided I wanted to be a painter, and then that moved into wanting to be an animator. By adolescence, I just wanted it to be something that was important...something that would make a difference in people's lives or leave an imprint in history.

I haven't sat down and memorized the language of Elvish, and anyone who does that is crazy!

I've had to find my sanity.

I just don't think that a lot of the time the messages we send kids prepare them for real life.

I just really like ants, and I really like science. I was interested and curious about the quantum world and the physics behind how it all works.

That's what happens in Hollywood. People are like, 'I want to hate you, because everyone else seems to love you.' But the reality is this: I'm a simple person who's not interested in attention and who just wants to go about her business.

My valentine is always my dad.

I'm surrounded by people who care about me and love me. I have a great job. I have wonderful roommates who take care of me. I have a family who adores me.

The difference in my body from pre-pregnancy to post-baby was night and day. I didn't have the strength, I didn't have the flexibility, I didn't have the stamina, I didn't have the mobility. I felt like I was handicapped.

I consider acting a day job - it's not my dream; it's not my be-all, end-all.

There is a little bit of evil in all of us, and it's very easy to draw that out.

I try my very hardest to remember that I don't have to be anything but Evangeline. That's all that's expected of me. And if I try to be more or less, I will fall flat on my face. So if I just continue to hold my head high and keep myself in check, I'm being who I was born to be.

I love being outside - that's where I'm the happiest.

That is the greatest source of my anxiety on this film [The Hobbit], is that I'm going to be lynched.

I eventually want to come back to Canada, to disappear, have nobody know me, and just be a writer and do what I want to do.

I've had boyfriends complain, "Wait, you don't want to see me?" No, I don't. I just want to hang out by myself. So screw off.

I was fortunate enough to be one of those stories where I was scouted on the street by somebody and actually refused to go to the agency, and was approached on different occasions and finally kind of caved and said, 'OK, I'll try it and see what happens.

I think that being isolated from the Hollywood world of premieres and red carpet events was probably good for me because I could ease into those at will and by my own choice. But in other aspects, when it comes to fanfare, Hawaii is nuts and in L.A. they're all so jaded. They don't care.

I just like short hair on women; I think its cool.

I adore having people over to my home. My number one reason I love that is because I love to see people at ease with each other.

I don't have the educated knowledge of what textures, colors, shapes and spaces need to be put together to make something just right. I'm learning it by trial and error, which is something that's slow going.

When I got the job on 'Lost,' I was a broke university student living in the crappiest part of town, with a duct-taped back window on a broken-down car. I existed on peanut butter and tea.

I bought almost every single thing that I furnished my house with at the Salvation Army in Hawaii. All second hand. Some of them are kind of retro, and some of them you'd never know.

My heart is in helping people and in the less materialistic side of things, but there's the side of me that's more polished.

Nature inspires us. Not being able to reach out and touch it, or see it, makes me get really antsy.

I felt like I was a good woman, a good person. But I was sinking deeper and deeper into depression, because my soul wasn't living. I was purposely holding down my soul and my spirit. It was dying inside of me.

When I got old enough to date, I realized that Valentine's Day is just a commercial marketing scam to make men feel bad. So I let my boyfriends off the hook.

I am so glad that I get to maintain a relatively down-to-earth lifestyle.

The world is full of opportunities, and I want to try as many as I possibly can.

I think men don't know what they want, so the idea of not knowing what they're getting makes it a little easier on them.

I would love to pretend I don't diet, but I work very hard. I stay active and eat very healthy. Anybody who says otherwise is either unhealthy or lying! I will admit that I'm addicted to sugar - licorice, Jujubees and jelly candies. And I actually love bran muffins!

I definitely come down on the spiritual side. I think very few things in life happen by chance.

I can still go grocery shopping and not get mobbed. But when I was in South Africa this summer, I had people asking for autographs, and that scared me.

Every night I bring home flowers and burn candles. And I have a real sense that home is what starts everything inside of you.

Originally, I wanted to do humanitarian work. I actually feel that getting into acting, which fate has led me to, is my window and path into humanitarian work. I always said I want to do something important. And I feel this work is what's helping me get there.

When I was little, I attended five different elementary schools. My parents are very restless people, which is probably where I get my own nomadic lifestyle from.