"I am a very selfish person"
About this Quote
“I am a very selfish person” lands like a grenade because it violates a rule actresses are trained to obey: be desirable, be agreeable, be grateful. Lara Flynn Boyle’s bluntness flips the usual PR script, where self-interest is always disguised as “self-care,” “protecting my energy,” or the more palatable “being honest.” She chooses the uglier word on purpose, and that’s the tell.
In the celebrity economy, especially for women, “selfish” is less a personality trait than a moral accusation. It’s what gets stapled to you when you don’t smile on cue, when you don’t play nice with press narratives, when you turn down roles that want your body more than your talent. By owning the charge outright, Boyle steals its power. It’s a preemptive confession that doubles as a boundary: don’t expect access, don’t expect compliance, don’t confuse visibility with availability.
The subtext is also defensive. Saying it first means no one can use it as a gotcha later; it’s reputational judo. Coming from an actress who moved through a ’90s spotlight machine obsessed with youth, thinness, and public romances, the line reads as survival language. “Selfish” becomes shorthand for selective attention, controlled exposure, and a refusal to be edited into a simpler woman for mass consumption.
It works because it’s unsentimental and risky. In a culture that rewards performative humility, she offers something rarer: an unattractive truth delivered without apology.
In the celebrity economy, especially for women, “selfish” is less a personality trait than a moral accusation. It’s what gets stapled to you when you don’t smile on cue, when you don’t play nice with press narratives, when you turn down roles that want your body more than your talent. By owning the charge outright, Boyle steals its power. It’s a preemptive confession that doubles as a boundary: don’t expect access, don’t expect compliance, don’t confuse visibility with availability.
The subtext is also defensive. Saying it first means no one can use it as a gotcha later; it’s reputational judo. Coming from an actress who moved through a ’90s spotlight machine obsessed with youth, thinness, and public romances, the line reads as survival language. “Selfish” becomes shorthand for selective attention, controlled exposure, and a refusal to be edited into a simpler woman for mass consumption.
It works because it’s unsentimental and risky. In a culture that rewards performative humility, she offers something rarer: an unattractive truth delivered without apology.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
|---|
More Quotes by Lara
Add to List
