Jacki Weaver, Born: 25 May 1947, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Well, I've been acting for 50 years now, professionally. I've been acting a lot longer. My mother re...Show more »

Well, I've been acting for 50 years now, professionally. I've been acting a lot longer. My mother reckons I was acting when I got out of the womb. But because I've been working in the theater, I've probably only done about 25 movies but I've done more than 100 plays. Show less «

A lioness has got a lot more power than the lion likes to think she has.

I'm in fact Australian but my mother's English so I've got no problem playing a domineering English ...Show more »

I'm in fact Australian but my mother's English so I've got no problem playing a domineering English woman. Show less «

When you get as old as I am, you kind of believe there's nothing new under the sun, but there's alwa...Show more »

When you get as old as I am, you kind of believe there's nothing new under the sun, but there's always a fresh way of looking at something. That's why I love working with young people. They remind you of things you used to know and have since forgotten. Show less «

A lot of actors, whatever movie you're working on, you make up a back story just for your own, to wo...Show more »

A lot of actors, whatever movie you're working on, you make up a back story just for your own, to work off, even if the audience doesn't have it revealed to them. I think it's important that the audience makes up their own mind. Show less «

I usually do get to play the very sweet, charming roles... but I'm not an obvious kind of villain.

I believe in sex on a first date. Otherwise, how do you know if a second date is worth the effort?

[re her Oscar nomination for Animal Kingdom (2010)] I remember being like a stunned mullet. A mullet...Show more »

[re her Oscar nomination for Animal Kingdom (2010)] I remember being like a stunned mullet. A mullet is a fish, and when they catch them, they [makes cross-eyed face]. The Oscar buzz when I was nominated was totally overwhelming. I think I can cope with anything now that I've coped with that. It was huge. It makes you realize, coming from a small country like Australia, what an enormous industry it is in America. Show less «

I'm under five feet; I'm very small, 4'11 1/2.

I love gay Mardi Gras in Sydney, which is a big parade, a big march that thousands and thousands of ...Show more »

I love gay Mardi Gras in Sydney, which is a big parade, a big march that thousands and thousands of people participate in. And there's one little group... well it's not little, it's got hundreds of people marching, and they're all very sweet, middle-aged and elderly people who are the parents of gay children who are out and proud. Show less «

I love getting presents. And awards. I'd do whatever they told me to do.

Most Australians who've got an ear can do an American accent because we grow up listening to them on...Show more »

Most Australians who've got an ear can do an American accent because we grow up listening to them on television and in movies. Show less «

I do have friends in Australia who now refer to me as 'Hollywood Jack.'

I'm always shy when I meet people I admire so I wouldn't be able to say anything rather than, 'How d...Show more »

I'm always shy when I meet people I admire so I wouldn't be able to say anything rather than, 'How do you do? Love you! Bye!' Show less «

They call David O. Russell the actor whisperer because he can get stuff out of actors that maybe som...Show more »

They call David O. Russell the actor whisperer because he can get stuff out of actors that maybe some other directors can't. Show less «

I was an adventurer, and I got married a few times. I kept trying to find a relationship as good as ...Show more »

I was an adventurer, and I got married a few times. I kept trying to find a relationship as good as my parents'. Show less «

The Oscar buzz when I was nominated was totally overwhelming. I think I can cope with anything now t...Show more »

The Oscar buzz when I was nominated was totally overwhelming. I think I can cope with anything now that I've coped with that. It was huge. It makes you realize, coming from a small country like Australia, what an enormous industry it is in America. Show less «

It's a very generous culture, American culture. I know you can't generalize 300 million people, but ...Show more »

It's a very generous culture, American culture. I know you can't generalize 300 million people, but everyone I've met here has been so lovely to me. Show less «

In Australia, I grew up watching 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' my son grew up watching 'Sesame Street,' m...Show more »

In Australia, I grew up watching 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' my son grew up watching 'Sesame Street,' my grandson's growing up watching 'Dora The Explorer.' So we are sort of saturated with American culture from the day we're born, and to those of those who do have an ear for it, it's second nature. Show less «

I guess just a lively imagination is the best effort an actor can have.

A lot of directors want to storyboard you, whereas the best way to get a performance out of an actor...Show more »

A lot of directors want to storyboard you, whereas the best way to get a performance out of an actor is a collaborative process where you listen to the actor's input. Show less «

It's one of the functions of the theater to shock and titillate and appall, apart from entertain and...Show more »

It's one of the functions of the theater to shock and titillate and appall, apart from entertain and delight. Show less «

I've done a lot of plays before where I had to do a New York accent, but never a Philly one before. ...Show more »

I've done a lot of plays before where I had to do a New York accent, but never a Philly one before. They do the rhotic 'r' - where you say the 'r' - where most New Yorkers don't. Show less «

I love pretending to be other people. The more unlike me they are the better - I find other people e...Show more »

I love pretending to be other people. The more unlike me they are the better - I find other people endlessly fascinating and myself incredibly boring. Show less «

I live for my work, apart from my family who come first. And I live to tell stories and pretend to b...Show more »

I live for my work, apart from my family who come first. And I live to tell stories and pretend to be other people, it's something I've been doing since I was 3 years old. Maybe it's because I'm intrinsically bored with myself, and I find other people more interesting. Show less «

I live for my work, apart from my family who come first. And I live to tell stories and pretend to b...Show more »

I live for my work, apart from my family who come first. And I live to tell stories and pretend to be other people, it's something I've been doing since I was 3 years old. Maybe it's because I'm intrinsically bored with myself, and I find other people more interesting. The more different they are, the bigger the challenge. Show less «

When I was seven, I wanted to be Esther Williams. I was drummed out of Brownies because I snuck off ...Show more »

When I was seven, I wanted to be Esther Williams. I was drummed out of Brownies because I snuck off to the cinema to watch an Esther Williams festival - my greatest wish if I get to Hollywood is to meet her. Show less «

I'm a nice middle-class girl in real life, and I'm a mom and a grandma, and I usually play sweet cha...Show more »

I'm a nice middle-class girl in real life, and I'm a mom and a grandma, and I usually play sweet characters. Show less «

I've had my share of villains and played some fairly nasty characters. But I've been acting for so l...Show more »

I've had my share of villains and played some fairly nasty characters. But I've been acting for so long. I started out as the girl next door. Now I'm the grandmother next door. Show less «

We're becoming so much better at destigmatizing all sorts of things, including mental illness in 'Si...Show more »

We're becoming so much better at destigmatizing all sorts of things, including mental illness in 'Silver Linings.' Show less «

No, I'm so well-known at home I think they think of me like a piece of comfortable furniture that's ...Show more »

No, I'm so well-known at home I think they think of me like a piece of comfortable furniture that's always been around that they're not going to throw out. Show less «

I love when I am not typecast. I've been acting for 50 years. I was such a baby face; I was playing ...Show more »

I love when I am not typecast. I've been acting for 50 years. I was such a baby face; I was playing children until I was in my 30s, which frustrated me enormously. Now that I am 65 and getting to play women in their 50s, I am getting paid back for having to play children for so long. Show less «

This friend of mine said he was surprised to find that - I don't think it's quite a majority - a big...Show more »

This friend of mine said he was surprised to find that - I don't think it's quite a majority - a bigger percentage of actors are introverts than extroverts. It was a big surprise to him. Now, I know me, and I'll do anything if I'm playing a character. Or anything that's true to the character, anyway. But in real life I'm a little more withdrawn. Show less «

I'd love to be a voice in 'Toy Story 4.'

The thing about being an actor is that every new job is a new challenge. Sometimes you'll have a sho...Show more »

The thing about being an actor is that every new job is a new challenge. Sometimes you'll have a shot, and it doesn't work. Sometimes it'll work better than you expected. Show less «

I'm crazy about the Coen brothers, I'm crazy about Sean Penn. I love the usual suspects like Susan S...Show more »

I'm crazy about the Coen brothers, I'm crazy about Sean Penn. I love the usual suspects like Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep and people like that. Show less «

I do a lot of American plays. I've done a lot of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon. I...Show more »

I do a lot of American plays. I've done a lot of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon. I was in 'Sisters Rosensweig,' 'Six Degrees of Separation,' all of that stuff. So we're very familiar with America. I did 400 performances of 'Born Yesterday.' I did 700 performances of 'They're Playing Our Song.' Show less «

I don't play many characters like myself. Oh I don't know what I am!

[on playing the matriarch of a Melbourne crime family in Animal Kingdom (2010)] I found some of my s...Show more »

[on playing the matriarch of a Melbourne crime family in Animal Kingdom (2010)] I found some of my scenes intense and emotionally draining, but that's the nature of the beast. I enjoy that. Show less «

It's funny in the U.K., where I'm not really known because I never did a soap. My English cousins in...Show more »

It's funny in the U.K., where I'm not really known because I never did a soap. My English cousins in the Lake District think I'm not a real actor because they've never seen me in 'Home and Away' or 'Neighbours.' Show less «

I remember I was a little girl when Elizabeth Taylor stole Eddie Fisher from America's Sweetheart, D...Show more »

I remember I was a little girl when Elizabeth Taylor stole Eddie Fisher from America's Sweetheart, Debbie Reynolds, and the reaction back then was enormous! And Angelina Jolie was in trouble, too, for taking a husband away from another America's Sweetheart. Don't take husbands from America's Sweethearts. Show less «

You learn stuff from every character you play about the human condition that can be quite enlighteni...Show more »

You learn stuff from every character you play about the human condition that can be quite enlightening. Show less «

Everything the Coen brothers do is brilliant.

It's a basic tenet you learn at drama school. If you're playing someone evil, you can't make an obje...Show more »

It's a basic tenet you learn at drama school. If you're playing someone evil, you can't make an objective moral judgment. You've got to get inside the character and empathize as much as possible. Show less «

I know that Philadelphians hate New York actors passing off New York accents as Philadelphian when t...Show more »

I know that Philadelphians hate New York actors passing off New York accents as Philadelphian when they are quite different. Show less «

Sexism is alive and well! We were saying this forty years ago. I'm an optimist, so I like to think w...Show more »

Sexism is alive and well! We were saying this forty years ago. I'm an optimist, so I like to think we've progressed in some ways - in Australia, we get equal pay. Show less «

I love a bit of a sequin and a bead. I do, even though I usually wear trousers, when I put a frock o...Show more »

I love a bit of a sequin and a bead. I do, even though I usually wear trousers, when I put a frock on. I like a bead or a sequin. Show less «

I've had five weddings but if I'm really honest and if I count significant de factos... I've had nin...Show more »

I've had five weddings but if I'm really honest and if I count significant de factos... I've had nine husbands... which sounds appalling but when you consider I started at 18 and I'm 65 it's not so bad. Show less «

The eyes are the windows of your soul, and when you're acting, they're one of your most important in...Show more »

The eyes are the windows of your soul, and when you're acting, they're one of your most important instruments. Especially for close-ups! Show less «

I've always said about awards that they're meaningless until you win one, and then they're best thin...Show more »

I've always said about awards that they're meaningless until you win one, and then they're best thing in the world. The other thing about awards is that they engender respect from areas where it might never have come from without it. Show less «

It wasn't on my agenda, but the thing about getting important awards is it makes the adventure of yo...Show more »

It wasn't on my agenda, but the thing about getting important awards is it makes the adventure of your career have a little more possibility. I think just what's happened so far is already making the opportunities more interesting, even though I'm at the twilight of my career of like 48 years. Show less «

Every director's so different. Everybody has their own modus operandi and I love getting to know dif...Show more »

Every director's so different. Everybody has their own modus operandi and I love getting to know different directors in the way they work. David O. Russell is very exciting to be with because he's got a mind like quicksilver. Show less «

'Promiscuous' implies that I'm not choosy. In fact I'm very choosy. I just happen to have had a lot ...Show more »

'Promiscuous' implies that I'm not choosy. In fact I'm very choosy. I just happen to have had a lot of choices. Show less «

I was sent the script for 'Silver Linings' when I was doing a play in D.C. at The Kennedy Center wit...Show more »

I was sent the script for 'Silver Linings' when I was doing a play in D.C. at The Kennedy Center with Cate Blanchett and I was sent the script and asked if I was interested, and I said 'Oh, boy am I!' Show less «