Professional Competition Quotes

I was so pretty, actresses didn't want to work with me.

I am going to be a professional soccer player.

Times are changing and women need the critical stimulus of competition outside the home. A girl must nowadays believe completely in herself as an individual. She must realize at the outset that a woman must do the same job better than a man to get as much credit for it. She must be aware of the various discriminations , both legal and traditional, against women in the business world.

I think I felt compelled in a way because if I hadn't written the part, I never would have been offered the part. There are at least 10 guys who would have been offered the part before me.

You can't rest on six months of good performances because as soon as you have a blip, there is always another player to take your place.

I don't think I would want my children to enter into my profession. There's a lot of stress and so much competition. There are easier things you can do with your life.

I prefer playing ATP tournaments and Davis Cup competition rather than Olympic Games.

Not everybody wants to have the same career. I think what's difficult is when you have two people that do something very, very similar and they both, say, want the limelight. That's very tricky.

When one doesn't want the limelight, but is also creative in developing whatever it is they are, then you can have two equal people that aren't competing against each other. I think when you are in the same field, it's difficult to leave it outside and not compete. Then when the doors are closed; that pervades everything.

A powerful studio boss doesn't want to be bested by a woman, even in chess. And a successful agent steps on a lot of toes. You lose actors jobs so you can get them for your own clients.

The thing is, comparison and pressure have no boundaries. There will be comparison with your co-star, with the films that are releasing with your film.

Every actress has to face the facts there are younger, more beautiful girls right behind you. Once you've gone beyond the vanity of the business, you'll take on the tough roles.

No matter what your profession – doctor, lawyer, architect, accountant – if you are an American, you better be good at the touchy-feely service stuff, because anything that can be digitized can be outsourced to either the smartest or the cheapest producer.

Actors always think that others are getting more work than them. In my case, they usually are.

I was very much aiming to go into movies eventually, like a lot of 'SNL' people. But, soon after I arrived, all these really good actors started, like Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg, and I thought, 'If I were casting a movie, I would put all of them in it over me.'

I would have rather been beat by a plumber than Kathy Griffin.

We were surrounded by influences and interests that came between Stephen and me. The nurse who became his wife was seeking to undermine me, and there were wider influences, too, following the runaway success of 'A Brief History of Time.'

I just hope and pray that I never get threatened by younger actresses coming up behind me. I hope I won't, but you never know what's going to hit you.

Playing a fashion designer could be the bane of my existence because I am married to a fashion designer.

Average people push great people out of a company.

I literally would have been the guy that would have played pro ball until they came to me and said, "Go home, you don't work here anymore."

The competition to get above the rest and be the lead commentator, or whatever you want to call it, is much fiercer than it was when I was starting out. By the same token, there were not as many jobs going back then, so to get one was an achievement in itself.

When I came to New York, I began to meet the people who became the most famous artists of our time. I was insecure about my own level of ability, I didn't know whether I could compete with these people and, at the same time. I was wondering what is this anyway?

There's plenty of times in my life I've coached against my brother, coached against people I've coached with.

When I joined the Sunday Times the people I was competing with were all 10 or 15 years younger, they all had double firsts from Oxford or Cambridge, they were all bright as new pins.