Moments after winning an Oscar, Ms. Stapleton was asked by the press how it felt to be recognized as one of the greatest actresses in the world; she replied, "Not nearly as exciting as it would be if I were acknowledged as one of the greatest lays in the world." [on acting] "I do a job. I get paid. I go home." "Watching 'Manhattan', it almost makes you forget all the dog poop on the streets." "There are many roads to good acting. I've been asked repeatedly what the 'key' to acting is, and as far as I'm concerned, the main thing is to keep the audience awake." Upon receiving her Oscar for REDS, Maureen thanked a few individuals and finished her acceptance by saying "I would like to thank everyone I've ever met". "When the curtain went up or the camera rolled, I did the best I could...[I loved] the challenge and the opportunity to leave reality behind and become someone else." "I was born old." -- MS, in reference to her matronly casting "I was 17 years old, I weighted 180 pounds and I had a hundred bucks in my pocket. I was invincible." -- MS, referring to her move to New York "I never had that problem. People looked at me on stage and said, 'Jesus, that broad better be able to act.'" -- MS, commenting on her beauty "Yes, because I'm old and tired and I lost three times before." -- MS, when asked did she think she was going to win the Oscar for "Reds" in 1981 "Looking back, I don't feel I had a choice. For a fat, struggling kid like me, the only way out was to be someone else -- an actor."