Emily Atack

I sounded like a fantasist at school when you'd go round the class, and they'd say, 'What do Mummy and Daddy do?' I was like, 'Mummy's an actress, and Daddy's a musician, and he plays his guitar with Bonnie Tyler.' And the teachers used to, like, roll their eyes, like, 'She's mental!

British Actress

Philip Roth

I needed my life as a springboard for my fiction. I have to have something solid under my feet when I write. I'm not a fantasist. I bounce up and down on the diving board, and I go into the water of fiction. But I've got to begin in life so I can pump life into it throughout.

American Novelist

Harlan Ellison

I don't think I've ever really been a science fiction writer. I'm closer to a fantasist, speculative fiction, whatever, but labels are ultimately derogatory, and I eschew them as best I can.

American Writer

Helen McCrory

When I was 14, I told my mother I intended to be in the House of Commons in the morning, in court in the afternoon and on stage in the evening. She realised then a fantasist had been born.

Ada Yonath

I was described as a dreamer, a fantasist, even as the village idiot. I didn't care. What I cared about was convincing people to allow me to go on with my work.

Israeli Scientist

Dasha Zhukova

I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I guess I'm a bit of a fantasist and a daydreamer - all sorts of things come to me during the day.

Russian Celebrity

Pete Doherty

English Musician

Understand 'fantasist' suggests a person may not recognize the impracticality of their ideas or dreams.

Unrealistic Perceptions

'Fantasist' often implies criticism; the person’s thoughts are not taken seriously.

Negative Connotation

'Fantasist' is used when someone is known for making their stories or abilities seem bigger or better than they are.