“I had been kind of quite porky and happy at boarding school and not se...” — Rachael Stirling Quote

“I had been kind of quite porky and happy at boarding school and not self-conscious at all; then, suddenly, I found myself in auditions being examined, and it made me angry.”

“I panicked in my 20s and 30s about whether I was doing the right thing. I was an excited puppy, wanting to please people and feeling guilty that I'd had a privileged education and an acting career.”

“I was raised to please people in authority, and I'd also come from a sheltered boarding school, so I was very naive and young for my years.”

“I went to a few really bad commercial auditions because I needed the money, and when you booked a commercial, your life was made: you could eat.”

“I've done some awful auditions, and I've really done some horrible work, but it forced me to flex those muscles, and that's what makes you a better actor, just doing bad work and seeing what looks bad and growing from it.”

“I think because there is the constant looming threat of nepotism and judgment, I really tried to separate what I was doing at MTV, my auditions, anything I was doing creatively, from my family.”