Bellucci: “I know very well the difference between my image and who I am."

Bellucci: “Because I'm pretty, everybody thinks I'm stupid. But it is like a mask, and you have to break the mask to show that there is something else behind it. You have to show who you are to make the others come to discover you."

Bellucci: "Irreversible is not glamorous at all. I try to do different things because I want to grow as an actress and I like to take risks."

Bellucci: "I like to live very much in the present. If I was an animal, I'd be a little cat. They like to live life."

Bellucci: “My body is an object of work. That's why I think to be an actor is one of the most violent jobs. If you're a pianist, you have your piano. If you're a guitarist, you have your guitar. But if you're a dancer, or you're an actor - your instrument is your body."

Bellucci: "Being an actress is the sublimation of femininity."

Bellucci: "I like a movie that brings out many discussions. From my experience, every time I have done movies, they create this kind of situation. Like 'Irreversible,' 'The Passion of the Christ,' 'Malena'; it's so interesting. I like to explore the dark side of humanity. That's why I'm an actor."

Bellucci: "In acting process, it's very difficult to explain. It's something very intimate, very private."

Bellucci: "I am an agnostic, even though I respect and am interested in all religions. If there's something I believe in, it's a mysterious energy; the one that fills the oceans during tides, the one that unites nature and beings."

Bellucci: "An actor works with their soul and their thought."

Bellucci: “I believe that time destroys everything. You can take one beautiful apple, red. After a while, it becomes shrivelled and full of worms, just like what happens to us."

Bellucci: "I like to be in the spotlight once in a while, and then I like to be in the shadows. It's really regenerating."

Bellucci: "When someone is suffering, you have to see this in the body and the face. I say all the time that actors use their bodies like objects of war."

Bellucci: "I have no idea how I'm perceived in America because I don't live the reality of America."

Bellucci: "I think the person creates the artist. And I think when you get lost within your person, your artistry get lost, too. It's like in 'Birdman.' Because the artist inside you is attached to your soul. And when you're not attached to yourself anymore, the soul goes away. You can't let that happen."

Bellucci: "Now, all the movies are for teenagers. It's very difficult for an actress to find really deep, beautiful characters to play."

Bellucci: "When you're in front of the camera, you have to try to create different emotions because even the person making pictures of you needs inspiration. To be 'you' means nothing - you can be so many yous."

Bellucci: "Do you know who I would love to play? Morticia Addams - then I could use all that darkness to be funny."

Bellucci: “In France, they call the beauty of youth 'the evil beauty.' You don't have it because of you but because you're born with it. The other kind of beauty is your own work, and it takes forever."

Bellucci: "I have a lot of adrenaline. I have a naturally fast system. But I love to eat, and I am not skinny."

Bellucci: "I know many beautiful people and their lives are just so terrible. They feel so uncomfortable with themselves. Being comfortable is not about what you look like, but how you feel."

Bellucci: "I love fairy tales because I think that behind fairy tales, there is always a meaning."

Bellucci: "I've had old people in my life that I really loved - especially women - so I'm not scared about getting old. It's what's inside that makes us beautiful on the outside."

Bellucci: "When I have to go to Cannes, that is boring to me."

Bellucci: “Personally, I find it romantic not to be with someone all the time; you don't get used to someone or take them for granted."

Bellucci: “Wherever I go, I am Italian. The way I talk, the way I eat, the way femininity is important to me. The way I love Italian food."

Bellucci: “Lipstick is the most valuable weapon in a woman's make-up kit. It has the power to transform the appearance and mood of the person wearing it, and, at the same time, arouses the admiration of everybody else."

Bellucci: "I feel fine and comfortable with myself, but not because I'm beautiful."

Bellucci: “Everybody does what she needs. And if you want plastic surgery, and then you feel better, why not? There is no law. I've nothing against using something to help your beauty - but do it in a good way, with intelligence."

Bellucci: “Envy is human nature."

Bellucci: “When people divorce, it's always such a tragedy. At the same time, if people stay together it can be even worse."