CHER (1946 – )                                                         

‘I was a shy ugly kid who led a big fantasy life. I thought I was an angel sent from heaven to cure polio. When Doctor Salk did that I was really pissed off.’

‘In this business you have to be tough, and if someone pushes me really far I can certainly be impossible. I’ve always said, ‘If you’re nice they walk over you, and if you stand up for yourself they call you a bitch.’

‘I don’t like my voice that much. I think I’m a much better actress than singer. Singing is like going to a party at someone else’s house. Acting is like having a party at your own house. When you go to someone else’s house for a party, it’s not your responsibility at all. But when you have the party at your own house there’s a lot of responsibility. Everyone has to have a good time. So, for me, acting is deeper.’

‘I’m not a role model, nor have I ever tried to be a role model. The only thing about me as a role model is I’ve managed to stay here and be working, and survive, for forty years. I’ve been on my way out since I started, but I’m strong-willed. My mother is so much tougher than I am, and my grand-mother is so much tougher than my mother. I haven’t a clue why I’ve lasted so long. There’s no reason. There are many people more talented than me. I think it is luck.’

[Her reaction to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election]: ‘It’s like there’s a death in my family. I hate to even call him a president because all he does is watch TV.’

DENHOLM ELLIOTT (1922 – 92)                                   

[The actor who became internationally known for his portrayal of Marcus Brody opposite Harrison Ford in the ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy, spoke about his single term at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)]: ‘I was asked to leave. I disliked it intensely there. It was all filled with acting students who thought they were so grand and knew it all. It made me feel ridiculously stupid.’ He later recalled: ‘They wrote to my mother and said, ‘Much as we like the little fellow, he’s wasting your money and our time. Take him away!’

BARBARA BILLINGSLEY (1915-2010)             

[Barbara spoke about how she landed her role as June Cleaver in the fifties TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver]: ‘Roy [her husband] died on a Saturday, while we were gardening. The Thursday before, I was up for the part of the mother in a series Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were working on. Then Roy died, and nothing came of that series. But two months later, when they started on Leave it to Beaver, they remembered me and asked me to read for the part of June. I’ve always thought that they felt sorry for me.’

STANLEY BAKER (1928 – 76)                

[Baker starred as Lt Chard in the 1964 classic Zulu. Here he talks about his time as a schoolboy]: ‘If it hadn’t been for one man, just one man who luckily took me up, I would have always hated school and I would have probably ended up as one of the criminals I’ve played too many times on the screen. I was a complete dud at school. I hated school. I got into awful trouble. Before I met Welsh school teacher Glyn Morse, every teacher thought of me as a ‘good-for-nothing.’

BETTY HUTTON (1921 – 2007)               

[When she replaced Judy Garland in the musical film Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Howard Keel and she did not get along at all. He claimed she cared more about her career than she did about her co-stars. Betty viewed the situation differently]: ‘The cast was awful to me. They wanted Judy. The film was the end of me. Professionally, my career was great, but never was the scene off-stage great for me.’

AMY ADAMS (1974 – )                                           

‘I grew up as a Mormon and that had more of an impact on my values than my beliefs. I’m afraid I will always feel the weight of a lie. I’m very hard on myself anyway. Religious guilt carries over too. You can’t really misbehave without feeling badly about it. At least, I can’t.’

[Speaking about the film American Hustle (2013)]: ‘I want to say the f-word so much in this interview, because these characters are in such a f….d – up situation. [But]I think it’s rude. Mormon upbringing. I’ll say it in film. But that’s a character. I just won’t say it in print.’

‘I had an existential crisis at the Oscars, sitting next to Sean Penn and Meryl Streep, and being like, ‘What am I doing here? I don’t belong here.’ I felt like it could all be taken away.’

‘I was a huge Ann-Margret fan, and I wanted to be like her.’

[On turning down the role of the Pink Power Ranger in Power Rangers Light-Speed Rescue (2000)]: ‘A lot of people kept saying ‘you’re so dumb!’ But I wanted to learn about acting and wanted a job that would help me to do that in a serious way. I wonder all the time what would have happened to my career if I had taken it.’

JOHN FORSYTHE (1918-2010)                

[One of the stars of Dynasty, John was required to work late several times]: ‘I remember one Friday night I called to tell Julie [his wife] I would be home late; I was shooting a scene with Joan Collins that we finished around one in the morning. When I finally got home, I was exhausted, but Julie was waiting up for me. ‘It was quite a night’, I told her, and hopped into bed. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and saw there was lipstick on my mouth. And on my shirt. Joan Collins used a lot of lipstick, a tremendous amount of lipstick. At breakfast, I asked Julie, ‘Didn’t you notice anything funny last night?’ ‘Funny? In what way?’ she asked slyly. ‘Just a little lipstick on your collar.’ ‘You want to know how I got it? Joan Collins.’