From Owen Wilson's favorite tactic with the ladies to why Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez broke up: New book reveals celebrities' love advice

By Margot Peppers

Published: 17:43 EST, 7 October 2013 | Updated: 09:22 EST, 8 October 2013

A TV presenter who spent years interviewing Hollywood stars has compiled the best celebrity quotes he has ever been told in a new book.

Australian-born ESPN sportscaster James Swanwick, who used to be a Hollywood correspondent, writes that he always stuck to unconventional interview questions in order to get the most interesting and unique responses.

His book, Celebrity Confessions - What Hollywood's Rich and Famous Say About Sex, Money and Success, is a collection of some of the best lines stars have told him, including their candid advice on love and relationships.

A-list confessions: Australian-born sportscaster James Swanwick (center), who used to be a Hollywood correspondent, has written a new book compiling the best and most interesting quotes from celebrities

'Like us, celebrities get drunk, lose their temper, make mistakes and have dirty little secrets,' Mr Swanwick writes in his book, which costs 99 cents in Kindle form on Amazon.com.

'And surprisingly to most, they also have dreams, aspirations and great words of wisdom.'

Some of those words of wisdom were from Will Smith, who opened up about how he and Jada Pinkett Smith, his wife of 16 years, make marriage work.

'Anything that you have ever been successful at in your life, just do that with your relationship,' he advised.

'My wife and I are students of human interaction. We don't expect our relationship to take care of itself.'

For 31-year-old Kirsten Dunst, being open with your partner is the best way to maintain a relationship. 'The secret is being honest with each other about everything. Honesty is key,' she said.

Wise words: Will Smith told him how he and Jada Pinkett Smith, his wife of 16 years (pictured in June 2010) make marriage work. 'Anything you have ever been successful at, just do that with your relationship'

Past and present: Ben Affleck said he and Jennifer Lopez (left), who dated from 2002 to 2004 made a 'mistake' in their relationship. His current wife Jennifer Garner (right) believes heartbreak is a necessary experience

Mr Swanwick launched his career as a Hollywood journalist in 2003 at the age of 27, after ten years as a newspaper reporter in his native Australia.

In an effort to keep his interviews unique, he says that 'When were you last drunk?', 'When were you last in a fight?' and 'What are you scared of?' were some of his favorite lines of questioning.

In a candid conversation with the late Brittany Murphy about love, the actress told him she had been broken-hearted before, and she had broken other people's hearts.

'It is not a pleasant situation but it's a learning experience,' she said. 'I really recommend everyone have a broken heart at least once because it makes you a much richer person.'

Jennifer Garner also sees the loss of love as an experience to learn from.

The 41-year-old once said to Mr Swanwick in an interview: 'Whenever you have a breakup, you learn as much as you are willing to learn.

Secrets of romance: Kirsten Dunst (left) told the writer that honesty is the key to a relationship, while Owen Wilson (right) confessed he uses cheesy moves on ladies

'You can sit there and blame or you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, "What could I have done here, what did I do to contribute to this not working."'

Her husband Ben Affleck, to whom she has been married since 2005, certainly learned a lot from his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which lasted from 2002 to 2004.

'[We] made a mistake,' the actor admitted. 'That mistake was being accessible and being excited about falling in love. We didn't anticipate the degree to which it would be a story that had legs.'

While many of the stars asked about their love lives opened up about the pain and heartbreak they experienced, Owen Wilson talked about the tactics he uses to win over a woman.

'I do the old, kind of yawning, kind of like throwing my arms back over my head and casually dropping one of them over her shoulder,' he confessed, adding: 'It's surprising how well that works.'

Some other celebrity discussions quoted in Mr Swanwick's book include ones with Bradley Cooper, Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton and Daniel Craig, among many others.

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