Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Frances Conroy - brilliant, brilliant actress.
To have art suppressed is very dangerous to society.
I feel really connected to antiquity for some reason.
'Homeland' is great at challenging our preconceived ideas.
In real life, too, women love to be that girl who tames the bad boy.
Medicine, anything academic, is a very Persian Iranian route to take in life, in one's career.
The way we remember people, even their beauty is all so subjective and a matter of perspective.
It's bizarre to be given an award for being empathetic and kind, which is what we all should be.
As an Iranian woman and activist, Sotoudeh's plight resonated with me on a deeply personal level.
For me personally, I'm an activist, so I see a lot of turmoil and heartache in the world and tragedy.
When you're devoted to a greater freedom in the world, you're willing to compromise something you love.
Dance connects us to the musicality of life and to one another. No one should be denied such basic pleasures.
When you or your loved ones escape repression, you often find yourself committed to ensuring that freedom prevails.
Belgian chocolate is my weakness. I like over 72 percent cacao, which shows you how much of a dark chocolate snob I am.
While awareness-building is a crucial first step, cohesive efforts are needed to translate this into real-world change.
Old-school Dire Straits songs are on heavy rotation: 'So Far Away,' 'Romeo and Juliet' and of course 'Sultans of Swing.'
We all know in our hearts that forgiveness is the right thing; it's just a matter of being inspired to reach that place.
The people of Iran have had to endure repressive laws that have stifled their freedom of speech and religion for too long.
I always say, as an actress, I get to portray the human condition, but as an activist, I get to change the human condition.
The thing that I love about 'Scandal' is every character, it's not clear if they're good or bad. Everyone is both good and bad.
Clothes are a big part of a free society, I think, and what you wear is so indicative of the political climate you're living in.
Violence against women and girls touches every corner of the globe and is one of the world's most pervasive human rights violations.
How often do we see a Muslim woman who is intelligent and independent, and has a voice of her own and is career-driven, on American TV?
It's been an interesting progression, going from soap to a sitcom with 'How I Met Your Mother' and now being a series regular on 'Homeland.'
I was always fascinated with science, and being Persian, it's instilled in us at a young age to follow something very academic in our career.
First of all, I'm Middle Eastern; I'm Iranian, so to be playing a leading role in a big Hollywood movie, I think, is possibly one of the first times.
It's nice to see different dimensions of a character. A love interest and family life are always, I think, important in creating layers and textures.
I entered the acting world at a time when there was a higher demand for Middle Eastern actors in the post-9/11 world, and yeah, the roles weren't great.
Although each human rights victory energizes us to continue our work, there remains a deep sorrow for those prisoners still wrongfully languishing in jail.
Generally, I love being part of a project that imparts a positive message, is somehow educational or enlightening, helps to bridge differences, or inspires viewers in some way.
Jason Rezaian, held for 544 days in Iran, was not a spy but rather a 'Washington Post' journalist whose work aimed to increase cultural understanding between Iran and the world.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was not engaged in subversive work; she was an apolitical project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the Reuters news agency.
For me, the struggle for women's human rights began the moment I was born in Tehran at the height of the Iranian Revolution, a time when the status of women was quickly deteriorating.
Artists often become vocal advocates of freedom of expression because we depend on it so heavily in our work. But it is an inalienable right that belongs to everyone on an equal basis.
Our rights are interconnected and inseparable. When freedom of expression is threatened, the rights to freedom of association and assembly, of thought, conscience and religion, are also compromised.
I was very successful, and I graduated with honors. And then I called my dad, who still lives in London, and I said, 'Dad, thanks for college, but I'm going to go act now.' It didn't go over very well.
History's lesson, of course, is that attempts to suppress free expression have merely confirmed the caricaturists' original critique of heavy-handed and objectionable actions of overreaching governments.
I think a culture can really be elevated through the arts, and it's always a dream come true when I come across roles that enable me to fuse my love of storytelling with my passion for activism and raising social awareness.
The entertainment industry isn't a line of work encouraged in the Persian culture. When I called my dad to say I wanted to quit medicine, there was about three minutes of silence. I'm not sure he knew what to do with himself!
I do think faith is important when it introduces positivity into your life and you see it with love in your heart because there's so many people who unfortunately use faith for detrimental things or to justify detrimental actions.
As an actress, I value and rely on peaceful self-expression, not only in my daily life, but also in my professional work. This is particularly true, as my commitment to the promotion of human rights is an integral part of my calling as an artist.
My human rights activism has been widely met with encouragement and support. Ahangarani should earn plaudits, not only for her cinematic achievements, but also for her humanitarian deeds and her commitment to increased rights and freedoms for all.
In my role as a spokesperson for Amnesty International U.S.A. and as a supporter of various charitable causes including Unlock Iran, a campaign to release prisoners of conscience in Iran, I have never been faced with the threat of intimidation or arrest.
I was born in Iran, which has a predominantly Muslim population, and I have relatives who are devout Muslims, so I know what it means to be judged based on your appearance and what you're wearing. But your ethnicity and your clothing do not define who you are.
I retweet Amnesty International tweets a lot. It isn't just, 'This person is incarcerated unjustly.' It's also, 'This person was just released.' Those are the victories we work toward, so if we don't inform people of the victories, it does become doom and gloom.
Women and girls, men and boys all share the right to live free of violence, which is, unfortunately, experienced by both men and women. Women and girls, however, disproportionately experience violence due to a deeply rooted global culture of gender discrimination.
In 2013, I started playing Fara Sherazi on 'Homeland.' I love playing her, not just because she's a strong woman, but because for the first time, a Muslim woman is being portrayed on television as a regular person, rather than a cliche or collection of stereotypes.
A celebrated and hugely popular actress in her native Iran, Ahangarani first landed on the radar of the Iranian authorities for her open support of opposition figure Mir-Hossein Mousavi, which led to her arrest in July 2009 in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election in Iran.
When President Hassan Rouhani was elected in Iran in 2013, he welcomed back the far-flung children of Iran. But one by one, they have been arrested and imprisoned upon their return, a fate that has made me increasingly reluctant to risk going back to a homeland I've not seen since 1992.
I decided to start acting in my mid-twenties. I studied pre-med, and I have a bachelor's degree in Biology, so when I decided to pursue a different career, I got a lot of, 'What on earth are you doing?' But, I gave myself a year and thought, 'You know what, I'm going to just beat the odds.'