Quotes by Karen Allen

“Eventually you love people - friends or lovers - because of their flaws.”

“Ive always done things the hard way. I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and Ill probably go on doing it for the rest of my life.”

“Someone born in Brazil is an American. Anyone born on the western hemisphere is an American. American is not a nationality.”

“Ive never done anything for money. My first love is things of limited commercial appeal. I could be happy doing Shakespeare for the rest of my life.”

“I loved living and breathing theatre so much that I decided I had to find a way to bring my desire to act and my ability to support myself together. Id run through the possibilities in Washington, so that meant moving to New York”

“I was so lucky. I was very broke and I was taking classes at Lee Strasbergs Institute and I saw a 3 X 5 index card on the bulletin board advertising for college-aged girls for a film. That was Animal House”

“[Life means] giving as much of yourself as you have to give.”

“Idleness does drive me crazy, but Id rather read or write than do anything just to work. A kind of respect has been instilled in me for acting: I love it too much to ever have a bad relationship with it.”

“[They were] a small group of actors in their 20s, run by a man who had experience with Peter Brook and Grotowski, and I spent five years with them, producing, directing and acting.”

“[When we filmed Animal House, I] found John [Belushi] astonishingly shy and vulnerable. Rather than being a confident established star, he seemed nervous about meeting everyone, about fitting in.”