"I never used to sleep much. I think we all go through a bit of a time like that where we rage about. If we don't, I don't think you've ever really lived"
About this Quote
The key word is "rage", which shifts the quote from mere late-night energy to something hotter: a period of fierce wanting, ambition, heartbreak, or artistic hunger that refuses to be quiet. Cilento isnt romanticizing productivity so much as the emotional excess behind it - the years when you are too alive to be comfortable. That matters coming from an actress of her era, a profession built on being watched and judged, where volatility can be labeled "difficult" and desire gets punished. Recasting turbulence as a rite of passage is a way of reclaiming narrative control: the messy stretch wasnt waste; it was the price of intensity.
There is subtextual defensiveness, too. By universalizing the experience, she invites empathy while preempting moral scrutiny. The line implies: dont pathologize my restlessness; it was evidence I was awake to the world. It flatters the listener into remembering their own unruly chapter and calls it life, not failure.
Quote Details
| Topic | Live in the Moment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cilento, Diane. (2026, January 15). I never used to sleep much. I think we all go through a bit of a time like that where we rage about. If we don't, I don't think you've ever really lived. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-used-to-sleep-much-i-think-we-all-go-150446/
Chicago Style
Cilento, Diane. "I never used to sleep much. I think we all go through a bit of a time like that where we rage about. If we don't, I don't think you've ever really lived." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-used-to-sleep-much-i-think-we-all-go-150446/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I never used to sleep much. I think we all go through a bit of a time like that where we rage about. If we don't, I don't think you've ever really lived." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-used-to-sleep-much-i-think-we-all-go-150446/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.







