Diane Kruger: The real challenge is to give a really nuanced performan...

Family is becoming more and more important to me.

Diane Kruger

becoming-more becoming important

Realization that i couldn't be a ballet dancer was a blessing in disguise because that was the first time I felt like I stepped into adulthood. I realized, Okay, this is not going to work out. It was frustrating for about a year because I didn't know what to do with the creativity and the discipline that dancing had instilled in me from a very young age. But then I moved to Paris to model, and that was my cultural awakening. Now, I think dancing has been the biggest thing in my life, much more so than modeling, and it still helps me enormously in my work.

Diane Kruger

creativity blessing thinking

I feel vulnerable sometimes - when I see an emotional scene, for example - and I remember what it took to get to that place, and I fear sometimes that everybody else can see that. You bare a part of you that makes you uncomfortable. I freely give it, I know, but I feel like people know something about me that I wouldn't otherwise give freely to a stranger.

Diane Kruger

emotional giving people

The reason I stopped modeling was because I wasn't pleased with trying to portray something that is impossible to reach. Even when I do photo shoots now for films, I'm just not interested in trying to look my best all the time anymore. That pursuit of an impossible perfection seems ridiculous to me now. I'd rather show my vulnerabilities or my doubts than try to be something that no one is.

Diane Kruger

perfection doubt trying

Above all, I dislike vulgarity.

Diane Kruger

vulgarity dislike

I'm not one of those women who thinks beauty is a curse.

Diane Kruger

curse loneliness thinking

I like the idea of accessibility, coming from a lower-middle-class background myself, I feel like beauty and products should be accessible to all women over the world.

Diane Kruger

class world ideas

To me, acting is very therapeutic. I get out a lot of anger and frustration. It's maybe hard to believe, but as a kid I really had a lot of self-doubts. My father was very ill - he was an alcoholic - so there were a lot of things that built up for me. And because I was going to a Catholic school in a small German town, a lot of it was suppressed. I was angry and didn't know how to get it out.

Diane Kruger

believe father school

I am a better person when I let myself have the time for romance and for love.

Diane Kruger

better-person romance persons

People always think I’m dainty when they meet me, but I’m really not. I’m very German – we’re not made out of sugar.

Diane Kruger

sugar people thinking

What you wear is such an expression of who you are. That's like someone picking out who I'm going to date!

Diane Kruger

fashion who-you-are expression

Sometimes it takes courage and experience to allow yourself to actually go into being someone that you're not, and it's the most liberating thing to let go. I do think that's why I love acting - it's being someone that you're not. And sometimes you're really scared of it, and then once you let yourself go there, it's the best thing ever.

Diane Kruger

acting letting-go thinking

I do give myself a break in my personal life but I think in work, if you don't push yourself you get bored and want to do something else.

Diane Kruger

bored giving thinking

I don't believe in marriage. I believe in a commitment that you make in your heart. There's no paper that will make you stay.

Diane Kruger

heart believe commitment

I truly, genuinely like clothes. Making them is an art form, and wearing them is a form of self-expression. I find it very emotional because I can remember moments in my life - my mood, how I felt - through these clothes.

Diane Kruger

emotional self art

I'm intrigued more and more by complex female characters because I'm more in touch with myself. I realize how screwed up or complex I am. And I'm flattered that, little by little, more and more directors want to meet me.

Diane Kruger

realizing female character

The reason I stopped modeling was because I was not pleased with trying to portray something that is impossible to reach. Even when I do photo shoots now for films, I am just not interested in trying to look my best all the time anymore. That pursuit of an impossible perfection seems ridiculous to me now. I would rather show my vulnerabilities or my doubts than try to be something that no one is.

Diane Kruger

perfection doubt trying

With modeling, you pose. You want to look your best all the time. With acting, you have to be aware of the camera, but the more you show your imperfections, the better you're going to be.

Diane Kruger

imperfection cameras acting

It's taken me a long time to realize that my own life is far more interesting than any part I'll ever play.

Diane Kruger

taken play long

I don't think my generation carries the weight of World War II anymore. But I've got to tell you, even if we don't really talk about it, we get reminded constantly by other people or other countries. I get offered a World War II movie at least once a week just because I speak German and was born there. I have always stayed away from it because I didn't want to be put into that box.

Diane Kruger

war country thinking

The real challenge is to give a really nuanced performance and really push myself, to make sure that we see a very complete picture of a woman living with Asperger's. Of course, I'm always intrigued. I learn so much from the show about storylines that actually happen on the border.