QuotesI'm a tawdry.
[On her image]: I hate this image of me as a prim Edwardian. I want to shock everyone.
I should get a few ribs taken out, because I'll be in a corset for the rest of my life.
[On breast-feeding her baby]: People say, "You're still breast-feeding, that's so generous." Generous, no! It gives me boobs and it takes my thighs away! It's sort of like natural liposuction. I'd carry on breast-feeding for the rest of my life if I could.
[On her friend and colleague Johnny Depp]: He's very cool. Whatever Johnny does, there's something cool about it. He's very hip. It's emotional and vulnerable, too, which makes it touching.
I'm drawn to emotionally damaged characters because there is more to unlock.
[On witnessing your completed performance]: You think you've transformed and then you see the bloody thing and you go, "It's so me." You think you've taken a holiday away from yourself and of course you haven't traveled an inch. It's painful, it's absolutely painful. But I've gotten better at recognizing those feelings and not getting involved in them. The first time you see your own film you want to slit your wrists.
Elizabeth was about dress-up. She loved her jewels. There's part of her that didn't grow up much. I love people who are still in touch with delight. I got to wear the jewels. The problem about it was that they weren't real. I did insist on having friends of mine do the wigs and the makeup because I didn't want to look like a man in drag.
[On playing opposite Dominic West as Richard Burton]: He was so good. You really have to suspend your disbelief as an actor. They always talk about suspension of disbelief for the audience. How are you going to go, "Am I really Elizabeth Taylor?" Who gives a fuck? If the person opposite you is doing such a good job as Burton, then you go, yeah I can do Elizabeth Taylor. It was like holding someone's hand and jumping off a cliff. We were terrified and both thought it could be a stupid decision. But it was really fun. She still hasn't gone. The voice comes back and it drives my family up the wall. It's the drawwwwwl. Sometimes I'm like, "Am I channelling Elizabeth or Rufus Wainwright?"
Very early on you figure out that you put your self-esteem in the hands of strangers. There's a different commodity. There's the Helena Bonham Carter that everyone thinks they know, who really has nothing to do with me. But you just have to let that go.
[On undertaking the role of Elizabeth Taylor]: My mother said, "Don't do it. You're trespassing on other people's dreams." And I said, "Well, I know mom but the script's so good." Good writing is very rare. And there are so many facets to her, that I couldn't say no to her personality. There was a hell of a lot to it. I had a massive file. Tim Burton was like, "Jesus, it looks as if you're writing a book." I said, "Well, I have a lot of responsibility." I read so many books, I'm sure I could pass an exam on her.
[On Johnny Depp]: You know, the man's overstuffed with talent in every direction.
Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it's okay to be fragile.
You've got to take very small steps, and sometimes you won't know where to go next because you've lost yourself. There's a great quote I've stuck next to the kettle. It's from Alice [in Wonderland]: "I can't explain myself... because I'm not myself."
It's completely absurd that because we have boobs we're not treated the same as someone with a penis.
[All about her]: Everyone seems to think I'm very ladylike. That I'm very cultured and intelligent. I drink alot of Diet Coke and belch. I've been known to use the F-word. I've told a few dirty jokes. I arm-wrestle.
[On casting agents' perceptions of her]: I also get fed up with the fact that casting agents and directors have this impression of me as being frail and petite. I find it very patronizing. I'm quite beefy and strong. I was a gymnast in school and I have lots of muscles.
[On Ape School]: I discovered that my normally hyper personality and movements are completely unsuitable for apes. I was in danger of flunking ape school at first until I began to get in touch with my inner ape!
[Dealing with death]: I don't think kids have a problem with death. It's us older ones who are nearer to it, that start being frightened.
[About the compliments people give]: I enjoy those small chats you have when people come up and talk to you about your work. It only involves a few seconds of effort to be nice to those people, and I am very grateful for the kind words that people have taken the trouble to express to me in person.
[On other people's perceptions]: I have to struggle to change people's perceptions of me. I grew very frustrated with the perception that I'm this shy, retiring, inhibited aristocratic creature when I'm absolutely not like that at all. I think I'm much more outgoing and exuberant than my image.
[On changing her looks]: I love changing what I look like because I always feel super strange whenever I do watch something that I'm in.
[On her apparent lack of versatility]: Journalists are always calling my features Edwardian or Victorian, whatever that means. I am small, and people were smaller in those times. I'm pale and sickly-looking. I look fragile-like a doll. But sometimes I just wish I had less of a particular look, one that was more versatile.
[On watching her performances]: Usually I'm frustrated when I look at my films and I don't believe that I've made a real transformation beyond my usual sets of gestures and expressions. I still have this nagging feeling that it's me, that I didn't create a unique character.
[On Tim's reaction to Billy's birth]: I think the birth was a bit of a shock to Tim. He was down there, shouting, "I'll catch it!" like he was a rugby ball or something. I was saying, "Look, Tim, it doesn't just shoot out." There's 48 hours of contractions and agony first.
[On her role as Enid Blyton]: It's a long time since I have read such a well written script with as complex and fascinating a character as Enid. I hope I do her justice. And I hope I get to drink lashings of Ginger Beer.
[On the classic fairytales]: All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark.
[About gaining roles in Tim's films]: Because I sleep with him he asked me to audition, you know?
[On her poor eyesight]: Famous people come up to me, but I don't know who they are because my sight is so bad. It's always at the pool of the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills when I don't have my lenses in and my glasses are in my room.
[On her childhood]: I was like one of those nauseatingly nice children. I was very, very well behaved and boring.
[On her role in Corpse Bride]: I was sad that Corpse Bride was so short. I would've liked to have had her around for way longer. She doesn't actually have that many scenes.