There was a little less pressure to be fit on 'The Avengers' than 'Captain America.' I had just finished 'Captain America,' so I was already built. Plus, 'Captain America' has that one scene dramatic scene where my transformation is revealed. 'The Avengers' has not one shirtless scene.

If I read the right script, if that script needs $5 million, if that script needs $50 million, I don't care. If I read a project that's beautiful, that I really want to make, whatever it needs, it needs.

All my good movies, nobody sees.

My family is certainly very vocal. They're very Italian. A lot of our holidays end with people screaming at each other across the room. And everyone's very opinionated and intelligent. A lot of my aunts and uncles are wildly educated, and their opinions reflect that. We're all very liberal.

The majority of the world is empty space. Empty space, empty space, empty space. All that we see in the world, the life, the animals, plants, people - it's all empty space. That's amazing!

I love getting to be in 'The Avengers.' You just breathe a little bit. It's not all about you. It's so nice to have other people bearing the burden of responsibility.

The comic book world is so dangerous, you know what I mean? You say one thing and people - they're ravenous - they are very opinionated fans. But they're great fans.

I've read a hundred fantastic scripts that didn't pan out as films, and I completely put that on the directors. I've also read some mediocre scripts that have ended up being amazing, and I credit that to the directors. They're the storytellers. If you don't have a good storyteller, you really have nothing.

I hung out with the jocks. It doesn't mean I necessarily was one. I was just kind of there.

I don't know any form of art or entertainment that can affect people the way movies can. I know it sounds ridiculous, but they can change your world. They can change your views.

With the second 'Captain America,' we really pushed the envelope in terms of what this guy is capable of, which I was excited to see. Because in the first 'Captain America,' he's just strong. In 'Avengers,' it was still, in my opinion, a little bit 'punch, punch, kick, kick.'

What did people do prior to cell phones? Read a book? If I'm stuck in a car, and I don't have my phone, I'm like, 'What am I doing?' Car rides used to be one of my favorite things.

I'm a romantic. I like romantic movies.

Our house was like a hotel. It was a loony-tunes household. If you got arrested in high school, everyone knew: 'Call Mrs. Evans; she'll bail you out.'

I'm a pretty decent tap dancer. I enjoy all types of dancing, actually.

But my happiness in this world - my level of peace - is never going to be dictated by acting.

My mum fought for feminism in her day so instilled in me the importance of equality. She taught me so much about women.

It seems like the studios are either making giant blockbusters, or really super-small indies. And the mid-level films I grew up on, like 'Back to the Future' and all those John Hughes movies, the studios aren't doing. It's hard to get them on their feet.

Acting is a trial-and-error business. Every actor has a few movies on their resume that they're not terribly proud of, but that's how you learn.

My mum told me that the best thing you could give a woman was attention.

You want to strike that happy medium: the balance of being able to find creative satisfaction in your profession, be able to afford a roof over your head, but still have the freedom to live a relatively normal life.

I emote. I love things so much.

Any time you make a movie where you're living in a certain head space for an extended period of time, it's tough not to take a little piece home with you.

For a long time all I wanted for Christmas were books about outdoor survival. I was convinced that the woods were calling me. I camped a lot, I took classes. At 18, I told myself if I don't live in the woods by myself by the time I'm 25, I have failed.

Don't wait for the perfect time to start making changes to your life; the time is now.

Baby steps count, too, as long as you're moving forward.

Your net worth can fluctuate, but your self-worth should only appreciate.

Many have forged a path to greatness lit only by a vision in their minds.

Unfortunately, some of the best fathers are mothers.

Racism is not new. It was not invented just for you. So get bigger than that stuff.

When you're doing something you're truly passionate about, there is no plan B.

When you tell your kids they can be anything, you've got to be careful. I told my kids that, and I ended up with a music producer and an interior designer. But they're doing it.

I cut grass, I did yard work, I did roofing, I cleaned basements to take care of my family.

I've said that if you're not doing something that you're passionate about, you're compromising yourself every single day.

You want be young and have fun, that's great. But while you're having fun, someone you don't see is studying and preparing. You might end up working for that person. No one wants to hear that! But I try to tell young people: You want to be the one signing the front of the check, not the back.

What can we be in life? Few figures in history have answered this question with as much clarity and moral authority as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When I was a kid, we played a jump rope game called double Dutch - where you had to jump over two ropes swinging in opposite directions. Picking just the right moment to jump in was a practiced art form.

I'm encouraged by what I see of men trying to be there for their children.

You're never too old to do something new.

My biggest hero was my mother. She told me every day that I could do or be anything. I knew it, I believed it, and I embraced it.

Too many veterans are poor or near poor and homeless because of it.

I chose to embrace the spirit of my mother, who, though she had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred, and destroyed, she still instilled in me, her child, that I could have dreams and that I did have a responsibility and the power.

We can all look to our friends, family, and those we admire for inspiration.

Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But be bold enough to do the one thing. Nobody needs to dig it but you.

As long as you have a plan for how you'll live, don't let jealous people turn their insecurities into yours.

The hardest thing that I had to do every day as a working single parent was child care, to have to leave my child with people that I did not know and hope everything was OK, that was the most painful part of every day.

We can all learn something from people we admire.

If you're lucky enough to have a permanent position, don't feel entitled. Companies value longtime employees' institutional memory, but to be irreplaceable, you must stay invested. Take the initiative and assume new responsibilities.

I've been talking to a lot of young people, especially here in America. I let them know that the people who they're competing with for opportunities live all over the place. They're probably not in your city, state, or country; they are hungry, and they are grinding! Some of the things that a lot of us take for granted, these people don't.

I am very, very conscious of time. I always wear two watches. People ask me, 'Why do you do that?' Because I was late once,and it cost me a huge opportunity.