It was physically difficult adjusting to wheelchair life but I remember a great relief and happiness that I was finally getting somewhere finding musicians to work with that were sympathetic.

Republicans rarely criticize Obama for lack of empathy - in part because liberals have traditionally been seen as standing up for the weak and the vulnerable. Conservatives can be just as empathetic. But they believe that in most cases it's not government's role to be the primary dispenser of empathy.

If you can find the line between sympathetic and creepy you have reached a very funny area.

I'm about as big a star as the Baha'i faith has got which is pretty pathetic.

One must never assume that a character is sympathetic because of either the actor playing them or the fact that they're a lead. I think that's a recipe for failure actually because if they become unsympathetic you lose your audience.

I thought that would be kind of cool to make a bad guy look sympathetic.

Without television and mass communication that knowledge wouldn't exist. So I think it actually has the possibility of turning people into more understanding and more empathetic people.

Thanks to capitalism the importance placed on beauty has never been so manipulated. We are the guinea pigs force-fed ads that tell us how pathetic we are: that we will never be loved happy or valuable unless we have the body the face the hair even the personality that will apparently be ours if only we buy their products.

Another thing that's pathetic is this rule that you have to look ugly to get respect as an actress. Jessica Lange had to make herself look really bad to prove that she had amazing talent.