It’s a privilege to do what I do for a living – to take people out of their miserable day, or to educate somebody, or make somebody laugh, or fall in love with an idea. How good is that? And I get paid to do it! – Anne-Marie Duff
I admire people who overcome obstacles or who have to commit – I’ve always really admired commitment, whether it be a commitment to living or a commitment to love. People who commit to a moment. People who are not somewhere else, but in the room with you. – Anne-Marie Duff
I think it helps to have a good old-fashioned trajectory, plodding along. Obviously one has an ego and it’s really easy to have that ego tickled, but what helps me get through the night is if I concentrate on just quality of work so that I don’t panic about my profile. – Anne-Marie Duff
The experience of having a child does crack you wide open. I felt like I suddenly had to rebuild the skin that I’d grown over the years before having a child. Perhaps that might be quite interesting in terms of acting. – Anne-Marie Duff
Oh, I must be ambitious, mustn’t I? I’m sure I always have been. I think you can only get away with pretending you’re not for so long. After that, it becomes ridiculous. – Anne-Marie Duff
There are people out there with three jobs and small children. Being an actor is a walk in the park compared to working as a cleaner overnight. I’m lucky I’m not plucking chickens. – Anne-Marie Duff
I try very hard not to take work home, but it can be tricky. Sometimes it feels as if you are wearing your costume underneath your own clothes! I suppose things are always ticking away in the back of your mind. – Anne-Marie Duff
I’m a right pain in the hole for my agent. I won’t take certain parts if I think they’re offensive or banal. For instance, I won’t do a film if I think it’s full of violence for violence’s sake, or a television drama if I don’t think it’s intelligent writing. – Anne-Marie Duff
I didn’t have a teen age at all. I didn’t even look at boys, never mind… then suddenly it was like, ‘Oh my god!’ So I made up for a lot of lost time very quickly. It was kind of bonkers. Working hard, partying hard – but also experiencing life, you know. – Anne-Marie Duff
Healthy love, I always think, is… wanting the person you love to be more of themselves. And I think for a parent that’s a challenge, because you have to let a baby spread its wings. – Anne-Marie Duff
I think creative people need to do a bit of, you know, tuning into every radio station – you just do, otherwise you don’t know much about other people. You kind of have to learn a bit about yourself so you can work out how we all behave and why we do the things we do. – Anne-Marie Duff
People can be a bit flagrant when they’re having an affair. Most of the time, there’s an element of it where they want to be discovered because they’re in crisis. They need the boil to be burst, in some way, for a resolution. – Anne-Marie Duff
I just would like to keep going. If I kept getting the kind of work that I’ve been getting for the last 20 years for the next 20, I’d be a bloody Dame of the British Empire. I’d be so happy. – Anne-Marie Duff
I was desperately shy when I was wee. Totally lacked confidence socially. When I look back at school photographs, I’m always the one shrinking in the back. What I really wanted to do was become a writer, and I don’t think the residue of that has ever gone away. I still feel the ultimate achievement would be to write a novel. – Anne-Marie Duff
It’s never enjoyable watching yourself. Because you’re never as good looking as you hope you are. You’re not expecting to be Penelope Cruz… but I’m a female of the species. I have my hang-ups and all of that. – Anne-Marie Duff
I didn’t really inhabit myself until I was in my 30s. And motherhood is an epic event. You can’t help but be altered by it – and it is important to be. – Anne-Marie Duff
The first thing that attracts me to any script is the writing. If I find myself becoming lost in a good yarn, then I feel certain that others will, too. – Anne-Marie Duff
As I get older, I want to draw on my experience to make roles better. I see that in the older women who inspire me – their experience makes them better. – Anne-Marie Duff
That’s the trouble with the suburbs: it’s not a city, so you’re not anonymous, and it’s not a small town, so that people really care about you, but everybody kind of knows each other’s business, so you’re very judged. – Anne-Marie Duff
I remember I was unsure about doing ‘Shameless.’ I’d never acted in anything so commercial. I read the script in the garden with my mum, Mary. She said it’s filthy dirty, but she said these people have love and sex and nothing else. That made me take the role. – Anne-Marie Duff
I’m always dancing in my kitchen. And I love to sing. I’ve always sung. My father was a lovely singer. Always sang Jim Reeves at parties. – Anne-Marie Duff
I was very lucky in that my parents were very broad-minded. Because they had come from another country and hadn’t been able to fulfill their dreams, they wanted me to be more of myself, if you know what I mean. – Anne-Marie Duff
