Most things don't work out as expected, but what happens instead often turns out to be the good stuff.

I would like to work with Jack Nicholson, before it's too late.

We know about the issue of children being sold and adopted and taken away but what is so extraordinary is how these two people come through something like - how both of them do, in actual fact. I think that she's one of the most considerable people I've ever met, Philomena.

I don't really want to retire. I intend to go on working as long as I can because I still have a huge amount of energy.

It takes courage to recognize the real as opposed to the convenient.

I don`t like reading scripts very much. I like it better for someone to just explain to me what it is about this story.

I feel with this film that as long as we tell Philomena's story and as long as we're true to her, which Jeff and Steve have already done by writing the story... we must not sell her short;. She's a most remarkable woman and all my concern was that we must be absolutely true to her story.