<P> In 1949, she was offered the role of fictional silent film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard . However, after a meeting with film producer Charles Brackett, she insisted that she had no interest in the part whatsoever . </P> <P> She was offered many roles in the 1940s and throughout her retirement years but she rejected all but a few of them . In the few instances when she accepted, the slightest problem led her to drop out . Although she refused to talk to friends throughout her life about her reasons for retiring, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman four years before her death "I was tired of Hollywood . I did not like my work . There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio...I really wanted to live another life ." </P> <P> From the early days of her career, Garbo avoided industry social functions, preferring to spend her time alone or with friends . She never signed autographs or answered fan mail, and rarely gave interviews . Nor did she ever appear at Oscar ceremonies, even when she was nominated . Her aversion to publicity and the press was undeniably genuine, and exasperating to the studio at first . In an interview in 1928, she explained that her desire for privacy began when she was a child, stating "as early as I can remember, I have wanted to be alone . I detest crowds, don't like many people ." </P> <P> Because Garbo was suspicious and mistrustful of the media, and often at odds with MGM executives, she spurned Hollywood's publicity rules . She was routinely referred to by the press as the "Swedish Sphinx ." Her reticence and fear of strangers perpetuated the mystery and mystique that she projected both on screen and in real life . MGM eventually capitalized on it, for it bolstered the image of the silent and reclusive woman of mystery . In spite of her strenuous efforts to avoid publicity, Garbo paradoxically became one of the twentieth century's most publicized women in the world . She is closely associated with a line from Grand Hotel, one which the American Film Institute in 2005 voted the 30th most memorable movie quote of all time, "I want to be alone; I just want to be alone ." The theme was a running gag that began during the period of her silent movies . </P>

Which celebrity said i want to be alone
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