As we get ready to welcome 2023 with open arms, we wanted to first take some time to reflect back on the year that was. From the many notables that graced our pages to our annual celebrations of the best that Greater Orlando has to offer; 2022 was a year to remember. In these pages, you’ll find a roundup of our lists for the top physicians, attorneys, dentists and other leading area professionals that appeared throughout the year. You’ll also see our picks for the top restaurants, retail shops and a whole lot more, including highlights from some of our best interviews. To read the full feature click HERE!

They Said It!

Memorable quotes from our best interviews in 2022

“I write from the heart. I sometimes feel people think I’m waiting for the next pile of setbacks, the ashes from which I can form into another album. Like I couldn’t just sit there and throw 12 tracks together—I genuinely need to suffer a bit beforehand.”

— Adele

“Love, attraction, sex appeal—call it what you want, it can lead perfectly rational people to behave in very strange ways, and to make decisions that are completely out of character. Is that a good thing? I think it probably is.”

— Owen Wilson

“I’ve learned a great deal from her resilience. I always joke that on The Simpsons, they give Lisa Simpson something at the top of the episode and 22 minutes later they’ve taken it away, whether it’s an achievement, an award or a friend. But that little girl just picks herself back up, pulls up her socks and gets on with it. And she does it with a smile.”

— Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson

“When people come to my show they are going to see my heart on my sleeve. I’m an ordinary guy who lives in this world and gets upset with stuff, I fall in love with stuff. I try my best to make the world a better place for me and my kids and everyone’s grandchildren.”

— Graham Nash

“It’s not a mistake that we once thought the Fountain of Youth was in Florida, and it’s no mistake that of all the places I could’ve hung my hat, I chose Florida. My whole career has been marked by a tremendous amount of travel, so I’ve only ever been home for a few days at a time here and there. Of course, the pandemic changed all that, especially the early part of it. To be able to get outside and enjoy the warm weather and go biking with my wife Gail during that time, it saved my sanity, and confirmed for me that I made the right choice. In short, I truly love it here.”

— Chef Robert Irvine

“I loved being there. I was actually [in] the inaugural freshman class at Celebration High School, so my class was the first full class that went through the four years. It was such a unique experience—you go to Celebration and there’s a utopian quality to it. My family loved going to Disney and loved being in that area, and we still have a lot of family friends there, so any time we can get back there is really great.”

— ESPN’s Laura Rutledge

“My dad’s side of the family is very country and my mom’s side is very city so I had the best of both worlds growing up. I used to do 4-H, which is where you show the animals you’ve raised at the local fair that comes around. My little brother and sister actually do it now. We used to have a mini farm where we had hogs, goats, chickens and rabbits, but we have since dialed it back a little bit. Now, we just have cows and horses on a separate piece of property.”

— Actor and Central Florida native Logan Allen

“I love the fact that my life is no longer about work and I can find so much joy in looking after [my kids], even though they’re growing up very quickly. I feel much less stressed and wrapped up in my own life now and I feel I’m enjoying things more.”

— Sandra Bullock

“I did some school plays, and I always liked to write poetry and songs and stuff when I was a kid, and I really loved music. My mom instilled a love of music in me because she sang around the house all the time and was always listening to music, and I read a lot. I still read a lot; I’m a huge lover of books. I think all those things combined probably unwittingly sort of built my appreciation for the arts.”

— Tim McGraw

“Many of my firsts were at Disney—I learned to swim at Disney, I met Santa Claus for the very first time at Disney, I performed live in front of an audience for the very first time at Disney. Disney definitely instilled in me that the dreams you wish really can and do come true. I like to say that Disney is in my DNA.”

— Actress and Orlando native Ashley Eckstein

“Coming out of this pandemic has made me feel that I am part of something much bigger than just myself. I’ve been very aware of my common humanity. This has helped me tremendously to face moments where I think I need to pull back; I need to fill my cup before I try to reach out to others. It’s about getting support from people around you, which is very helpful.”

— Glenn Close

“[I]’m a great worrier and I always tell myself that if the horrendous thing’s going to happen, then there’s no point worrying about it because it’s going to happen anyway and you’ve just kind of doubled your pain.”

— Eddie Redmayne

“From the beginning of my career, everything has been pretty well mapped out. When I would release an album, I pretty much knew what the next two years of my life would look like. To be one of the countless artists sidelined [by the pandemic], every one of us who has been lucky enough to be in front of an audience again, we’re all just coming at this from an enormous amount of shellshocked gratitude.”

— Josh Groban

“When I was younger, I feel like I was always hyper-focused on my career and there really wasn’t anything else that I cared more about than acting, performing, and later on writing and directing. If I got a bad review, it was totally wrapped around my self-worth. When I became a dad, all of that changed for the better. There is so much more to be proud of and to care about each and every day. And I know what a gift that is.”

— Ethan Hawke

“I remember my first year of living in Orlando, I learned how to write songs because I had a ton of time to just sit with my guitar and write. My school, Lake Highland [Prep], was very small at the time—there were only 55 students in my graduating class. Now the school is much bigger and it has done very well.”

— Rock guitarist Mark Tremonti

“I get tremendous satisfaction from playing women who push the envelope and fight for their place and recognition in society. We need to keep telling those kinds of stories to inspire young women to aspire to great things.”

— Jessica Chastain

“I never want to ‘phone in’ a performance. Anything that I put my name on and invest time and creativity doing is worth doing my best.”

— Idris Elba

“Many of my performances have been about real people and I feel that it’s an extra responsibility to find justice for the underdogs, for the underserved. It’s something that I’m extremely passionate about and have been for a long time. As an actor, I’m always searching for the truth in my characters.”

— Hilary Swank