Miriam Margolyes
Everything's harder for women: harder to start, to stay employed, to run a life with a family.Collection: Family
I don't have a very positive attitude towards rappers.Collection: Positive
Communication is something we all take for granted.Collection: Communication
Home is wherever I hang my hat.Collection: Home
I've always felt that Donald Trump was a Dickensian character because he is so ridiculous. With his hair and his arrogance, he is certainly Dickensian in his absurdity.
It's so important that people know there was a time before the NHS. It makes them appreciate it more.
Confidence was the backbone of my upbringing. I was an only child, so I was spoilt, loved, and given an enormous amount of confidence by my parents.
Nobody likes Jews. You can't say people like Jews. We're not popular. We're too smart to be liked. But it has been unacceptable to express anti-Semitism since the Holocaust.
I'm not a comedian, but I do make people laugh. I'm good at it.
It's very hard to talk about Palestine to Jewish people - they see me as a betrayer.
Mummy was absolutely the rock in my life. It was not that I didn't love my father; he was such a quiet man, and she was not. She was the most vivid person I have ever known. She was accomplished and brave and fearless. She used to say to me, 'I want you to be able to talk to anyone about anything.'
If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, I would say, 'Lose weight.'
Getting older is a hideous experience; I'm so glad I only have to do it once. But I've kept my mind, my career, my relationship, and I have enough money - I've been blessed.
I don't like religion.
Adelaide's charms are compelling. It's not a huge place; the size is manageable, the traffic absurdly light.
What's the difference between herpes and love? Herpes is forever.
I think life is sweeter shared; and if anything were to happen to my partner, I would find it really hard without her because she's the perfect person for my life.
I was terribly upset not to be in 'Dickensian,' so I pretend to look down on it. The part I should have played, Mrs. Gamp, is done brilliantly by Pauline Collins, but I entered this world for no other reason than to play that part.
Old people have a much better time in India because they're respected.
I want to explore the range of emotions it is possible to feel.
I don't think people realise how important it is to have your blood pressure checked. Stroke is so sudden, so catastrophic.
I know that a lot of my life is spent thinking about crisps and eating crisps and hating myself for eating crisps. It's just not worth it. Or it wouldn't be if crisps weren't so delicious.
I'm not sure I approve of theatre as a university course. I think theatre's something you do. I mean, literature is a subject; theatre is practical.
Israel is stupid for allowing people to vent their anti-Semitism.
I'm a silly little needy person sometimes, and I crouch in a room all alone and think of all the people that I wish were with me.
I really have fallen in love with myself.
One of the worst things about ageing is the waning of your physical powers. I live in a house with 64 stairs, and I cannot run up and down them any more; my knee has conked out.
In terms of my development as an artist, playing Professor Sprout wasn't all that important because she is well within my capabilities as an actress. But in terms of marketability, it made an enormous difference.
Unfortunately, I don't know many black people.
People who were gay were pitied and ridiculed by my parents - they had no modern sense of people being allowed to be who they were.
The curious thing is that I embraced homosexuality with as much joy and delight as I've embraced everything else in my life.
I think all actors get scared because we're frightened to disappoint.
I may have a talent for acting, but I am incapable of doing anything else.
The first piece of property that I bought was in Tuscany in 1973.
While researching my ancestry I have unearthed many skeletons. It would seem that I come from a long line of ne'er-do-wells, especially on my mother's side.
I love political cartoons from the 19th century, and whenever I complete a piece of acting work that I'm particularly proud of, be it a film or play, I treat myself to a picture by caricaturist James Gillray.
I wouldn't consider retiring to India: there are too many people, and it's difficult walking along the pavements. I'd love to spend two or three months a year there.
I want a comfortable old age and to be looked after - I have arthritis - and money is a factor.
I have a class prejudice - against the upper class, which is foolish.
I've been fat my whole life and pretended I don't mind. But I do mind. It's really stupid that I've gone on being greedy and fat.
I'm going to be 75 in May. How can I have lived this long and not know anything?
I still miss my parents every day; I adored them. And when you have no children, friends are even more important to you.
I don't for a second regret my closeness to them because they were wonderful, golden parents who gave me so much confidence.
I used to get into bed with my mother every morning, almost until she died, and talk about everything. She was my closest confidante always. I had no secrets from her.
Although my parents both liked her, they just didn't approve of a same-sex relationship. Nowadays, people say that you must let children be what they are, but when I was growing up, the parents defined the child - and my parents had a definite vision of how they wanted me to be.
My feeling is that the English are naturally anti-Semitic.
There's a strong melancholic streak in me.
People tend to think I'm funny and fluffy, but I can switch on a sixpence from extreme happiness to utter despair. I'm aware that doesn't make it easy for people sometimes.
My mother died of a stroke in 1974, and for a long time, I blamed myself. She was utterly devastated when I told her I was a lesbian not long before.
My vocabulary is vast and expert, and I don't think I overuse any word.