Background Image
...
I Hate Taxing My Mind With Analysis. I'm Not A Good Analyst. I Cannot Talk About Acting. I Hate Talking About It. I Hate Talking About Analyzing.
-Anthony Hopkins
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

I Hate Taxing My

Anthony Hopkins
...
I Hate Taxing My Mind With Analysis. I'm Not A Good Analyst. I Cannot Talk About Acting. I Hate Talking About It. I Hate Talking About Analyzing.

Understanding the Quote: "i hate taxing my mind with analysis. i'm not a good analyst...."

This quote by Anthony Hopkins reflects deeply on the theme of hate. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Hate, Talking, Mind, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Anthony Hopkins interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins is celebrated for insightful thoughts on hate and talking. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 6
Topic
Hate
Talking
Mind
More From Anthony Hopkins
Jonathan Demme Is A Very Sharp Editor Of His Movies.
Editors
I Worked At The Steel Company Of Wales When I Was 17. My Job Was To Supply Tools To The Guys Working The Blast Furnaces.
Jobs
Guy
Tools
When I Was A Younger Actor, I Was Very Immersed In It, Very "method" And All That. Now, I Don't Give A Hoot.
Giving
Actors
Method
A Census Taker Once Tried To Test Me. I Ate His Liver With Some Fava Beans And A Nice Chianti.
Movie
Nice
Great Year
I've Always Liked American Actors Particularly. Because That Was My First Impression. I Was Very Enamoured Of America When I Was A Kid Because We Were Surrounded By American Soldiers During The War, The Accent Was Very Strange To Me, It Was Very Exotic And Very Captivating.
War
Kids
America
I'm Having A Great Life. And I'm 73 And They Still Phone Me Up And Ask Me To Do A Job Here And There.
Jobs
Phones
Here And There
The Knighthood Was A Tremendous Honour, I Don't Dismiss It. But I Feel Embarrassed By The Flowery, Theatrical Stuff That Goes With Being An Actor.
Actors
Knighthood
Stuff
Mortality Is The Great Rescuer, It Finally Takes You Out Of Everything, And That Makes Life Good.read Carl Jung. It Makes Life Richer Because This Is It; None Of Us Know Where We Go And This Is The Fun Of It.
Fun
Good Life
Good Reads
My Philosophy Is: It's None Of My Business What People Say Of Me And Think Of Me.
Philosophy
Thinking
People
If I Spent All My Time Criticising Myself, I Wouldn't Be Able To Function. There Are Actors Who Theorise Till The Cows Come Home. I Haven't The Patience For Them. It's Maybe Shallow, But That's Why I'll Never Be Part Of The Acting Set.
Home
Acting
Actors
I Think The Healthy Way To Live Is To Make Friends With The Beast Inside Oneself, And That Means Not The Beast But The Shadow. The Dark Side Of One's Nature. Have Fun With It And You Know, Is To Accept Everything About Ourselves.
Fun
Mean
Dark
I Remember Coming To New York, In 1974 To Do A Play Here Called Equis. And I Remember The First Morning Getting Up And Walking Around The Streets And I Thought, "i'm Home." I Felt Really At Peace Here.
Morning
New York
Home
Some Nights You Might Go Through An Entire Performance And Not Feel A Thing, And The Audience May Have A Much Better Time, 'cause If You're Enjoying Yourself On Stage Too Much, They're Having A Terrible Time Because They Can't Hear You. And If You're A Woman Your Mascara's Running.
Running
Night
Might
It Was A Challenge, To Work With Oliver Stone.
Challenges
Stones
I Don't Want To Be Anything Else Other Than What I Am. I Can Say That With Passion. No Regrets.
Regret
Passion
Want
I Said Once That If They Gave Me Enough Money To Read The Phone Book, I'd Do It. I Live In A Total State Of Non-expectation. I Don't Expect Things, And I Keep My Expectations Very Low About Everything.
Book
Phones
Expectations
I’m Not Young Anymore. I Don’t Wanna Start Over Again.
Want
Young
Glad
I Have A Punishing Workout Regimen. Every Day I Do 3 Minutes On A Treadmill, Then I Lie Down, Drink A Glass Of Vodka And Smoke A Cigarette.
Workout
Lying
Glasses
I Don't Believe In Nepotism. I Don't Much Like The Idea Of Parents Who Interfere.
Believe
Ideas
Parent
I Think Julianne Moore Is Very, Very Good. I've Worked With Her. We Did Surviving Picasso. I Remember One Scene We Did Together. She Had To Have A Nervous, A Mental, Breakdown In This One Scene. I Didn't Have Many Lines. I Just Had To Make Sure I Knew I Came In On Cue All Right. And I Was Just Watching Her Walking Though The Rehearsal. I Thought I Know What She's Doing, "this Is Going To Be Terrific." So They Said, "are You Ready" And She Said, "yeah," "ok, Roll The Camera." And All In One Take.
Thinking
Together
Cameras
The Trick Is Not To Get Too Fanatical About Getting The Accent Too Accurate Because Then That Becomes A Mask. What I Try To Do Is Just Painting And Sketching Some Of The Sounds Without Obliterating My Own Voice.
Voice
Trying
Sound
Living With Reality Is A Very Good Trick, It Gives You Tremendous Freedom And It Changes The Structure Of The Molecules Of Your Soul By Living With Reality Because You Don't Expect Anything Anymore. Which Is A Weird Paradox.
Reality
Giving
Soul
We Are Fascinated By The Darkness In Ourselves, We Are Fascinated By The Shadow, We Are Fascinated By The Bogeyman.
Darkness
Shadow
Boogeyman
My Life Has Been A Kind Of Mystery To Me. By All My Logical, Linear Thinking I Started Out In School As A Little Boy, I Didn't Have A Clue About Anything. What They Were Talking About In School, Couldn't Play Sports, Couldn't Learn, And I Was Bottom Of The Class.
Sports
School
Boys
I Read A Lot, That's My Main Hobby. I've Got An Ipad Which I Store Books On And I Read Voraciously. I'm A Slow Reader But I'm Obsessive. I Make References, Underline Things, Cross-reference. I'm An Autodidact.
Book
Ipads
Hobbies
Try Not To Be Concerned With It. It's A Spiritual Thing. Don't Look For The Results, Don't Live In The Payoff. Live In The Moment Which Is A Spiritual Principle. Live In The Moment And Let The Results Take Care Of Themselves. It's In The Hands Of God. The Rest Is All Ego. And I Have Learned, Over The Years, It's Got Nothing To Do With Me. As My Life Is None Of My Business.
Spiritual
Hands
Years
I’m Not Being Cynical, But When You’re Doing A Movie You Have A Number Of Choices As An Actor. Then You See It All Cut Together And All Of Those Precious Little Pieces You Put In Are Maybe On The Cutting Room Floor. So, You Don’t Have That Much Control. You Have Very Little Control, In Fact.
Cutting
Numbers
Choices
There Is Nothing To Be Scared Of In Movies. It's A Bit Scarier Going On Stage.
Scared
Stage
Bits
When I Was A Young Guy, I Knew Everything. Now I Know Very Little. I Know Less And Less As The Time Goes On.
Guy
Goes On
Littles
If You Do Things, Whether It's Acting Or Music Or Painting, Do It Without Fear - That's My Philosophy. Because Nobody Can Arrest You And Put You In Jail If You Paint Badly, So There's Nothing To Lose.
Philosophy
Jail
Acting
If You're In A Successful Play And The Play Is Working Well - I Mean Successful Because The Audiences Like It, The Audiences Respond Well - It's A Pleasure.
Mean
Successful
Play
Acting Is A Creative Process, And Directing And Music. I Think Creative People - And I Take Myself As A Creative Person And It Doesn't Mean You Have To Be An Actor, A Musician, Or A Painter - But I Think If You Are In A Creative Profession Or A Creative Business You Do Have A Heightened Awareness.
Mean
Thinking
People
I Still Don't Know What The Film Was About Because All I Remember Is A Whole Lot Of Technical Dialogue About A Body In A Suitcase.
Body
Suitcases
Remember
When People Call Me Sir Anthony I Just Think Oh, That's A Bit Odd. But I'm Not Cynical About It. Um, I Just Feel More Comfortable Being Called Tony Or Mr. Hopkins, Whatever Name I'm Called.
Thinking
Names
People
I Became An Actor Because I Didn't Know What Else To Do. Academically, I Wasn't Good.
Actors
Knows
I Like The Good Life Too Much, I'm Not Good At Going On Stage Night After Night And On Wet Wednesday Afternoons.
Good Life
Night
Afternoon
Getting Old Ain't For The Faint Of Heart.
Heart
Aging
Faint Of Heart
People Ask, 'should I Call You Sir Hopkins?' But I Say, 'no. Call Me Tony,' Because It's Too Much Of A Lift-up.
People
Too Much
Should
It's Very Difficult To Liberate Yourself From What You've Learned. You Know It's Almost Impossible Because You Learn In Order To Survive.
Order
Impossible
Difficult
You Look Closely Enough, You'll Find That Everything Has A Weak Spot Where It Can Break, Sooner Or Later.
Looks
Weak Spots
Enough
I'm Married. My Wife, Stella - A Beautiful Woman. She's Brought A Lot Of Peace To My Life, A Lot Of Wisdom.
Beautiful
Wife
Married
I Can't Stand Directors Who Try To Micro-manage Everything. When It Happens These Days I Just Walk Off Set, Saying If They Don't Like The Way I'm Doing It They Can Get Someone Else.
Trying
Directors
Way
Oh Yes. I'm An Actor, So I Just Learn My Lines, And Show Up And Do It. I Gave It A Little Bit Of Thought.
Lines
Littles
Actors
There Are People Who Are Convinced Supernatural Forces Are At Work, But I've No Idea. I Suspect 'possession' Might Be A Psychological Thing, Like Schizophrenia. We All Think We Know Things, But We Don't Know A Damn Thing. Whether God Exists, Why We're Here... Nobody Really Knows Any Of It.
Thinking
Ideas
Supernatural Forces
We Have A Boesendorfer Piano That I Play Every Day. It Keeps My Brain And My Fingers Active.
Piano
Play
Brain
What Is So Liberating About This Whole Business Is When You See That, You Know, Big Movies Are Going To Come Out, Huge Movies Are Going To Come Out, And Then You See Them Up In Malibu In The Little Triplex Theater A Week Later, On The Scratch Negative, And You Think...“this Is Show Business. This Is The Great Movie Career. And It’s All Finding It In The Shoebox.”
Thinking
Careers
Shoes
That's What Happens If You Don't Address The Darkness In You. You Become Repressed And Depressed And Suicidal.
Suicidal
Darkness
Addresses
Most Of My Last 30 Years Have Been Like That. Results And Manifestations Of Things I'd Dreamed Of As A Young Kid And Wanted As A Child And As A Young Man. I Realized It Maybe 30 Years Ago. I Thought, "this Is Unreal. This Has Happened As I Expected It To, As I'd Pictured It." My Whole Life Has Been Like That And I'm Fascinated By That Power That We All Have. That We Create Our Lives As We Go.
Children
Kids
Men
I'm Not A Health Freak. I Just Work Out Every Day.
Work Out
Freak
I'm Just An Actor. It's The Way The Script Is Written, And It's Easy. I Don't Have Think About It. When You Receive The Script, You Know Pretty Well How To Play It, Apart From Little Technicalities Like The Accent.
Thinking
Play
Actors
My Philosophy Is: It's None Of My Business What People Say Of Me And Think Of Me. I Am What I Am, And I Do What I Do. I Expect Nothing And Accept Everything. And It Makes Life So Much Easier.
Philosophy
Insperational
Thinking
Sometimes I Feel Tired And Think I Ought To Give It Up, I Don't Want To Just Retire. No, I Enjoy It All And You Just Keep Going Until The Day Comes When You Can't Do It Anymore. And That's What I Want To Do.
Tired
Thinking
Giving
I Have No Interest In Shakespeare And All That British Nonsense... I Just Wanted To Get Famous And All The Rest Is Hogwash.
Hogwash
Sentimental
Nonsense
I Learn Poetry, Learn Text, And That Really Keeps You Alive.
Alive
I'm Very Much A Loner. I Don't Like Long Relationships With People And I Always Keep People At A Distance.
Distance
Long
People
Working With Katherine Hepburn, She Said To Me, "don't Act." She Said, "read The Lines. Just Be. Just Speak The Lines." I Said, "okay." She Said, "you Look Good. You Got A Good Pair Of Shoulders, You Got A Good Head, Good Face."
Pairs
Looks
Lines
I Don't Know What Acting Is, But I Enjoy It.
Acting
Enjoy
Knows
I Play Piano And That's My Love. I Read And I Paint And I Compose Music, So I've Got A Pretty Full Creative Life. And It's Not Because, I'm Obsessively Creative.
Play
Piano
Creative
I'm Not Unfamiliar With Music, And I Really Do Write Music. I've Gotten A Talent For It. I Don't Have The Technical Skills, But I Do Plan To Learn.
Writing
Skills
Talent
My Weak Spot Is Laziness. Oh, I Have A Lot Of Weak Spots: Cookies, Croissants.
Laziness
Weak Spots
Cookies
If You’re An Alcoholic Or A Drug Addict, We Flirt With Death. We Pull Ourselves To The Brink Of Destruction And If We’re Lucky We Pull Ourselves Back. We All Have That In Us.
Flirting
Drug
Lucky
I'd Like To Wake Up And Look Like Brad Pitt In The Morning, But I Don't. I Look In The Mirror, And I See Me.
Morning
Mirrors
Looks
My Life Turned Out To Be Beyond My Greatest Dreams.
Dream
Hopkins
Life's Too Short To Deal With Other People's Insecurities.
Life
People
Insecurity
I'm The Slowest Driver In The World.
World
Drivers
I Do My Job, And I Do What I’m Paid To Do And I’m Always Prepared. I Prepare By Learning The Text So Well That When I Show Up, I’m Relaxed And The Performance Sort Of Happens. Now Whether That’s Good Or Bad, I Don’t Know... Whatever I Say Is Going To Sound Very Egocentric And Self Centered Anyway So I’d Better Shut Up.
Jobs
Self
Sound
I Am Able To Play Monsters Well. I Understand Monsters. I Understand Madmen.
Play
Monsters
Able
I Know How To Be Strong. I Know How To Be Ruthless. It's Part Of My Nature. I Wouldn't Be An Actor If I Wasn't.
Strong
Actors
Ruthless
I Used To Be A Bit Obsessed By Acting But Not Anymore. I Do Enjoy Acting But I Probably Enjoy It More Now Because It's Easier. I Can't Work In The Theater Because To Me It's Too Serious. It's Like Being In Prison For Me. I Admire People That Can Do That But I Can't Do It. I'd Rather Live My Life And Do A Bit Of Acting In Between.
People
Acting
Serious
I Was Born In The Same Town As Richard Burton, The Actor, And I Saw Him, He Used To Come - He And His Wife Drove By In The Car In My Father's Shop And Burton Would Come Home From Hollywood And Ask Him For His Autograph, And I Thought, I Want To Be Like Him. And That's All I Said To Myself, I Want To Be Like That. I Want To Get Out Of This Environment Of My Own Empty Mind.
Father
Home
Empty Mind
The Movie Industry Is Full Of Crazy People Who Think That They Are God.
Crazy
Thinking
People
My Father Was Grounded, A Very Meat-and-potatoes Man. He Was A Baker.
Father
Men
Meat
I Enjoy Painting. I Don't Know If I'm Good At It, But I Paint. I Paint Very Quickly.
Painting
Enjoy
Knows
I Just Remember Kathy Bates Getting On The Stage And "the Oscar Goes To Anthony Hopkins." I Looked Around, Because I Really Thought Nick Nolte Would Get It. I Really Thought Nick Would Get It. I Was Very Surprised. It Was Neck And Neck With Nick Nolte And Myself. So I Really Was Expecting That To Happen, And I Went In There Without Any Expectations.
Expectations
Oscars
Necks
Acting Is Just A Process Of Relaxation, Actually. Knowing The Text So Well And Trusting That The Instinct And The Subconscious Mind, Whatever You Want To Call It, Is Going To Take Over.
Knowing
Relaxation
Mind
I've Been Composing Music All My Life And If I'd Been Clever Enough At School I Would Like To Have Gone To Music College.
Clever
School
College
Whether It's Overeating Or It's Overworking Or Over-sex Or Whatever It Is, Alcoholism, Drug Addition, We Push Ourselves To The Brink And Then Pull Back Because It's Kind Of Exciting.
Sex
Drug
Kind
Actors I Admire? Ed Harris, Or Course, I Think He's Terrific; Because I Know He Always Had To Fight Being What He Looked Like A Lot, But I Think He's A Terrific Actor.
Fighting
Thinking
Actors
I Know That Some Actors And Directors Like To Have Intensity On Set. I Don't, Particularly. Certainly, If They Want That, That's Fine, But I Can't Work Like That.
Directors
Actors
Want
I Like To Work. I Don't Like To Disrupt My Equilibrium. I Don't Like To Change My Head. I'd Rather Be A Third-rate Actor. It's A Job, And I'm Dedicated In My Way. I Enjoy It. I'm Serious About It. But If It Doesn't Come Off, I'm Not Going To Die.
Jobs
Actors
Way
I Have No Illusions About My Position In This World As An Actor Or Anything Like That. I'm Very Realistic. Reality Is A Very Liberating Thing.
Reality
Actors
World
I Spent Two Years In The Military Service, Then I Trudged Around In Repertory For Quite A While. I Somehow Wound Up At The National Theatre, Though, And Then I Was Definitely On My Way.
Military
Years
Two
There's A Thing That If You - Somebody In Faith Is Always Troubled By Doubt, And Somebody By Doubt Is Always Wanted By Faith. So It's A Kind Of Paradox.
Doubt
Kind
Paradox
When You Begin To Believe You Have License Because You Are A Special Person Breathing Special Oxygen, That's When You're In Big Trouble. That's The Road To Insanity. And A Lot Of People In The Studios Are Like That. They Believe That They Are Special. I Do Think Actors Are Blessed, Or Cursed, With Maybe A Slightly Heightened Awareness, Which You Have To Use.
Blessed
Believe
Thinking
Relish Everything That's Inside Of You, The Imperfections, The Darkness, The Richness And Light And Everything. And That Makes For A Full Life.
Light
Richness Of Life
Imperfection
When I Direct I Try To Keep It A Unique Design Of My Own. Naturally You're Influenced.
Unique
Design
Trying
Acting Is Constricted Because You Have The Lines. But I Improvise With It And What I Learn On The Set. I Improvise Rhythms And Just Changes.
Acting
Lines
Rhythm
I Don't Have Any Expectations About My Films. If They're Good, They're Good - If They're Not, They're Not. About 10 Years Ago, I Remember Going To See One Of My Movies - I Can't Even Remember Which One Now - And Everyone Was Jumping Up And Down, Getting Excited, Saying What A Great Film It Was Going To Be. We All Went In And Watched It, And It Was The Slowest Movie I've Ever Seen. The Next Day, The Reviews Were Terrible And Half The Studio Was Fired.
Next Day
Jumping
Years
I Just Wanted To Be A Composer; I Became An Actor By Default, Really. I Got A Scholarship To A College Of Music And Drama, Hoping To Take A Scholarship In Music. But I Ended Up As An Acting Student, So I've Stuck With That For The Last 50-odd Years.
Drama
College
Years
I'm Always Cast In These Strange Men... That's Not Me, Really.
Men
Strange Man
Strange
No Expectations. Ask Nothing, Expect Nothing And Accept Everything, And Life Is Very Well.
Expectations
Life Is
Expect Nothing
The Magical, Supernatural Force That Is With Us Every Second Is Time. We Can't Even Comprehend It. It's Such An Illusion, It's Such A Strange Thing.
Supernatural Forces
Strange
Illusion
I Drank A Lot, But I Wouldn't Have Missed It. I Look Back On It As Sort Of Dreary Enjoyment, Because I Don't Have To Be There Anymore.
Recovery
Looks
Enjoyment
I Have Dual Citizenship, It Just So Happens I Live In America.
America
Citizenship
Hopkins
I Always Distrust The Word Art When It Is Applied To Acting.
Art
Acting
Distrust
I've Always Liked To Be A Meat And Potatoes Kind Of Actor Who Doesn't Believe In Any Of The Highfalutin Stuff About Acting, So I Tend To Be A Little Bit More Cynical.
Believe
Cynical
Acting
For Me, Time Is The Greatest Mystery Of All. The Fact Is That We're Dreaming All The Time. That's What Really Gets Me. We Have A Fathomless Lake Of Unconsciousness Just Beneath Our Skulls.
Dream
Lakes
Skulls
I Don't Push My Luck. I Don't Worry About The Results And Therefore Everything Seems To Work Out Well. That's Something I've Learnt Over The Years. The Whole Thing About The Acting Business Is That It's A Hit-or-miss Game So I Keep My Distance From It.
Distance
Years
Games
Years Ago I Met Richard Burton In Port Talbot, My Home Town, And Afterwards He Passed In His Car With His Wife, And I Thought, 'i Want To Get Out And Become Like Him'. Not Because Of Wales, Because I Love Wales, But Because I Was So Limited As A Child At School And So Bereft And Lonely, And I Thought Becoming An Actor Would Do That.
Lonely
Children
Home
I Wanted To Be A Musician But I Didn't Have The Talent For It, So I Decided I Wanted To Be Famous, So I Became An Actor.
Musician
Actors
Talent
We All Dream. We Dream Vividly, Depending On Our Nature. Our Existence Is Beyond Our Explanation, Whether We Believe In God Or We Have Religion Or We're Atheist.
Dream
Atheist
Believe
When You're Younger You Have So Many Ideas About Yourself; Everything Is Important. It's Not When You Look Back, Nothing Is That Important. It's Only Life.
Ideas
Important
Looks
I Wanted Revenge; I Wanted To Dance On The Graves Of A Few People Who Made Me Unhappy. It's A Pretty Infantile Way To Go Through Life - I'll Show Them - But I've Done It, And I've Got More Than I Ever Dreamed Of.
Revenge
People
Unhappy
I'll Do Anything To Keep Everyone Laughing. Things Get Too Intense On Film Sets. I Remember On The Elephant Man, I Used To Imitate A Cat Without Moving My Lips. David Lynch Would Say, "cut! Sorry, We've Got A Noise Somewhere On Set." Everyone Would Be Looking Around For This Cat.
Sorry
Moving
Cat
I Come From - I Came From Wales, And It's A Strong, Butch Society. We Were In The War And All That. People Didn't Waste Time Feeling Sorry For Themselves. You Had To Get On With It. So My Credo Is Get On With It. I Don't Waste Time Being Soft. I'm Not Cold, But I Don't Like Being, Wasting My Time With - Life's Too Short.
Strong
Sorry
War
And I Love A Scary Movie. It Makes Your Toes Curl And It's Not You Going Through It.
Movie
Scary
Toes
How Do You Play Hannibal Lector? Well Just Don't Move. Scare People By Being Still.
Moving
Play
People
Beware The Tyranny Of The Weak. They Just Suck You Dry.
Dry
Weak
Tyranny
Well, Everyone Likes Movies When They're A Little Kid.
Kids
Littles
Likes
I Couldn't Say I Ever Dreamt Of Becoming A Composer, A Pianist, Or Anything Else For That Matter. I Have The Kind Of Brain Where Nothing Is Set In Stone.
Brain
Stones
Matter
I've Always Been Hopeless At Everything When I Was A Kid. That's Why I Became An Actor - 'cause I Couldn't Do Anything Else.
Kids
Actors
Causes
Oh, The Truth, Oh Yeah, Lot Of Trouble That Got Us Into, Didn't It, Over The Last Maybe Thousand Years? Hitler Knew The Truth, So Did Stalin, So Did Mao Zedong, So Did The Inquisition. They All Knew The Truth And That Caused Such Horror. Certainty Is The Enemy.
Years
Enemy
Lasts
I've Played A Lot Of Parts. But I Don't Look At My Feeling Is That This Is A Job. It's Given Me A Good Living.
Jobs
Feelings
Looks
I Think Doubt Is A Very Healthy Way To Live.
Thinking
Healthy
Doubt
People Ask Me How Did You Choose The Part And How Did You Prepare For This Work? I Just Learned The Lines And Showed Up; I Don't Know What Else To Say Because That's All I Know How To Do.
People
Lines
Ask Me
Guilt Is The Thief Of Life.
Guilt
Thieves
I Don't Mind Being A Commodity. It's Given Me A Good Life.
Good Life
Mind
Commodity
We're Just Blades Of Grass, And When We Go, We Go, We Never Come Back; One Life . . . Maybe That's True. But I Tend To Believe That This Is Not All There Is. Because My Life Has Been Like A Shadow Of Something Deeper. And I've Experienced That Many Times.
Believe
Shadow
Blades Of Grass
On His Hannibal Lector Mask: I've Got It At Home. I Wear It To Bed Every Night.
Home
Night
Bed
I Am Young! Being Creative And Keeping Your Brain Occupied Is Very Sensible Because If You Don't You Die, Slowly.
Creative
Brain
Young
I Know That The Arts Are Important. I'm Not Denying That, But I Can't Associate Myself With All The Claptrap That Goes On Around It.
Art
Important
Goes On
Keep Low Expectations And Life Gets Pretty Good.
Expectations
Low Expectations
Lows
I'm Interested In The Dream And Subconscious Mind, The Peculiar Dream-like Quality Of Our Lives, Sometime Nightmare Quality Of Our Lives.
Dream
Mind
Quality
You Have To Have Humor. If You Don't Have Humor And You Take Yourself Seriously, You're Dead In The Water. You Have To Be Jostled. I Love It. You've Gotta Have A Laugh. It's Better Than Working For A Living.
Water
Laughing
Working For A Living
Once You Accept The Fact That There's Nothing To Fear, You Drill Into The Primal Oil Well. I Believe When We Do Things Without Fear, We Can Do Anything. As Long As You Don't Worry About The Consequences.
Believe
Oil
Long
I Love Traveling. I Like To Keep Moving. I Love The Big Open Spaces In America.
Moving
America
Space
People Don't Always Tell You What They Are Thinking. They Just See To It That You Don't Advance In Life.
Thinking
People
The Way To Make Better Decisions Is To Make More Of Them. Then Make Sure You Learn From Each One, Including Those That Don't Seem To Work Out In The Short Term: They Will Provide Valuable Distinctions To Make Better Evaluations And Therefore Decisions In The Future. Realize That Decision Making, Like Any Skill You Focus On Improving, Gets Better The More Often You Do It.
Motivational
Skills
Work Out
I Am Not Very Good With Relationships. With Anyone. I Can't Be Locked Up With Anyone For Too Long.
Long
Very Good
Locked Up
Oliver Stone Is A Great Director And I've Seen Many Films Over The Years, But I Try To Create Stuff Out Of My Own Imagination. I Want To Break All The Rules And Mess About With It And Make A Different Movie Just For The Fun Of It.
Fun
Years
Imagination
I Love To Read, And So I've Been Reading Everything I Can, Not Intensely, But I Love To Read So I Read "origin Of Species" By Darwin And I Can't Make Head Or Tail Of E=mc Squared By Einstein, But I Try To Baffle My Way Through That.
Reading
Heads Or Tails
Trying
I Think The First British Actor Who Really Worked Well In Cinema Was Albert Finney. He Was A Back-street Marlon Brando. He Brought A Great Wittiness And Power To The Screen. The Best Actor We've Had.
Thinking
Cinema
Actors
I Do The Best I Can - I Know My Way Around [russian Method Acting Pioneer] Stanislavski, But I Can't Take Myself Seriously Like That. I Respect People Who Do It, Of Course. I Just Think I'm Lucky To Still Be Working At 73. You Reach A Point In Life Where You Just Think, "show Up, Do Your Job, Make Sure The Cheque's On The Way," And That's It. I'm Not Hungry To Do Anything More, Really.
Jobs
Thinking
People
I Always Liked To Take The Plunge, You Know, I'd Jump In At The Deep End And Hope That I'd Find Land Somehow, Or Hope I'd Float Or Survive. That's More Or Less The Way I've Gone Through My Life.
Land
Gone
Way
What A Glorious Night. Every Face I See Is A Memory. It May Not Be A Perfectly Perfect Memory. Sometimes We Had Our Ups And Downs. But We're All Together And You're Mine For A Night. And I'm Going To Break Precedent And Tell You My One-candle Wish...that You Would Have A Life As Lucky As Mine, Where You Can Wake Up One Morning And Say, 'i Don't Want Anything More'. Sixty-five Years. Don't They Go By In A Blink?
Morning
Memories
Night
I Hate Taxing My Mind With Analysis. I'm Not A Good Analyst. I Cannot Talk About Acting. I Hate Talking About It. I Hate Talking About Analyzing.
Hate
Talking
Mind
I Have No Education, I Have No Academic Background In Painting Or In Music, But I Write Music And I Compose Music And I Write And I Sell Paintings, And My Rule Is, Well, They Can't Arrest Me.
Writing
Painting
Academic
I Think One Of The Things You Have To Have Is A Respect For The Camera, A Real Respect, And A Real Love For It, And To Really, When I Say Take It Seriously, Quote 'seriously', I Mean Not Patronize It. It's A Big Mistake To Patronize It And Think It's A Third Rate Medium, Because It's Not, It's A Great Art Form.
Art
Mistake
Real
The Art Of Acting Is Not To Act. Once You Show Them More, What You Show Them, In Fact Is Bad Acting.
Art
Acting
Facts
When You're Young, You're Very Insecure. And If I Could Learn, If I Could Revisit My Own Past I Could Say To Myself, Don't Think Too Much, Just Get On And Do It.
Insecure
Past
Thinking
It's Such A Pleasant Surprise When You Come On Set And You Find Someone In Charge Like Ken Branagh Or James Ivory. You Know That You're Going To Do A Day's Work And At The End Of It, It's Going To Be Good.
Ivory
Pleasant Surprises
Ends
The Whole Point Of Courage, To Overcome Your Fear. That's The Interesting Thing, When Courage Bleeds Through The Fear.
Interesting
Overcoming
Interesting Things
I Never Cling On To Hope Or Certainty. They're The Enemies Of Peace.
Enemy
Certainty
I Don't Have People Following Me Around, Like Bodyguards. I Don't Know How People Live Like That. Maybe The Young Movie Stars Have To Live Like That, I Don't Know. But It Seems A Little Crazy To Me. I Don't Think You Need All That Stuff.
Movie
Stars
Crazy
I Look In The Mirror And I See The Lines, But I Don't Care. It's A Good Time. I Don't Know Why It's Such A Good Time, But It's A Good Time.
Mirrors
Looks
Care
I've Felt Like An Outsider All My Life. It Comes From My Mother, Who Always Felt Like An Outsider In My Father's Family. She Was A Powerful Woman, And She Motivated My Father.
Mother
Powerful
Father
Multiply It By Infinity And Take It To The Depths Of Forever, And You Will Still Have Barely A Glimpse Of What I'm Talking About.
Cheesy Love
Talking
Forever
At My Age, Any Day Above Ground And Vertical Is A Good Day.
Good Day
Age
Aging
I Love The Hour In Makeup. It Gives You Time To Think And Have A Cup Of Coffee. It's My Favorite Part Of The Day.
Coffee
Makeup
Thinking
We're All Different. Some People Are Musicians, Some People Are Actors, Some People Are Agents And Some People Are Accountants... We're All Different.
People
Musician
Different
If You Don't Go When You Want To Go, When You Do Go, You'll Find You've Gone.
Meaningful
Gone
Want
Non-expectation And Acceptance. Because Expectation Leads To Resentment And Depression, So I Have No Expectations.
Acceptance
Expectations
Resentment
I Was Called 'dumbo,' Like The Elephant, As A Child Because I Couldn't Understand Things At School.
Children
School
Elephants
My Life Is Not My Own Business.
Life Is
Interdependence
Own Business
I Don't Have Any [favourite Role]. I'm Just A Working Actor.
Roles
Actors
Favourite
I've Reached A Happy Stage In My Life - You Can Call It "happy" - But I Have No Expectations Anymore. I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore.
Expectations
Stage
Young
Danger Is The Spice Of Life And You’ve Got To Take A Risk Now And Then…that’s What Makes Life Worthwhile.
Risk
Spices
Now And Then
I Don't Waste Time Being Soft. I'm Not Cold, But I Don't Like Being, Wasting My Time With-life's Too Short.
Waste
Wasting Time
Cold
I Never Make Conscious Decisions.
Decision
Conscious
Hitchcock Was Such A Master Of Putting On Screen Things That Made You Uneasy. Somebody Once Asked Him What Frightened Him Most, And He Said The Police. He Came From A Poor Background. I Think He Understood Those Fears.
Thinking
Police
Poor
I've Had No ­contact With My Daughter For Years. That's Her Choice. Anyway, You Move On. If People Don't Want To Bother With Me, Fine. You Know, God Bless Them, And Move On.
Daughter
Moving
Years
There's Many A Good Tune Played By An Old Banjo.
Tunes
Aging
Banjos
I Am A Bit Of A Solitude Person - A Solitary Personality. I Like Being On My Own. I Don't Have Any Major Friendships Or Relationships With People.
People
Personality
Solitude
We're All Caught Up In Circumstances, And We're All Good And Evil. When You're Really Hungry, For Instance, You'll Do Anything To Survive. I Think The Most Evil Thing - Well, Maybe That's Too Strong - But Certainly A Very Evil Thing Is Judgment, The Sin Of Ignorance.
Strong
Ignorance
Thinking
I Was Trundling Around With My Inadequacies, And Inner Pain And Loneliness. I Yearned, Desperately, To Be Something. I Yearned To Get Out From Where I Was ... Some Deep Discontent Within Myself, Actually Some Deep Dislike Of Myself.
Pain
Loneliness
Solitude
Things Have Changed So Much Now. Everything Is Downloaded Onto Computers. I'm Not A Computer-savvy Guy, But With Downloading The Movie Industry Has Changed.
Guy
Computer
Changed
I'm Most Suspicious Of Scripts That Have A Lot Of Stage Direction At The Top Of The Page Sunrise Over The Desert And Masses Of A Whole Essay Before You Get To The Dialogue.
Sunrise
Desert
Pages
I Could Stay Making Nice Safe Bbc Movies For The Rest Of My Life, So I Decided To Risk It. It Was A Challenge, To Work With Oliver Stone.
Nice
Challenges
Risk
I Play Music - I Write My Own Music, But I Play Music, Just Background Music Really, And Just Let It Happen.
Writing
Play
Backgrounds
When You Are At The Right Age To Play Hamlet You Are Still To Young And Immature To Play It. It Is Much Later, When You Get The Life Experience And The Emotional Power, That You Understand Hamlet Or Macbeth.
Emotional
Play
Immature
I've Got A Great Sense Of Humor.
Humor
Sense Of Humor
I'm Devious, Cruel, Cunning And Addictive.
Cunning
Devious
If You Don't Follow Through On Your Dreams, You Might As Well Be A Vegetable.
Dream
Vegetables
Vision
I Don't Like Mushiness. I'm A Very Emotional Person But I Hate Sentimentality. I Don't Like Great Demonstrations Of Emotion. But As I'm Getting Older, I'm Getting Much More Open About All That.
Hate
Emotional
Getting Older
What I Do Is Just Go Over And Over And Over My Lines And Learn The Script So Well That I Can Just Be Easy And Relaxed. That's The Way I Always Work.
Lines
Way
Scripts
There's No Truth In Acting, It's All A Trick, Because You Go On Stage In Front Of Sets, You're On Film - It's All A Trick. I'm Making It Sound Very - I Really Am Demystifying It, But What I Try To Do, What I Do, And I Hope Effectively, Is To Create A Reality As If It Is Happening Now, That You're Fishing For Words Out Of The Air.
Reality
Air
Fishing
Ryan Gosling. He Was A Good Kid, Good Actor. I Like Him Very Much. What Was The Name Of The Movie? I've Forgotten It. Fracture.
Kids
Names
Actors
It Created In Me A Yearning For All That Is Wide And Open And Expansive. Something That Will Never Allow Me To Fit In In My Own Country, With Its Narrow Towns And Narrow Roads And Narrow Kindnesses And Narrow Reprimands.
Country
Kindness
America
I Thought I Did Play One Villain, Hitler, [who Is] Like Lecter In Some Ways, But He's A Mythical Figure, Anyway.
Play
Way
Villain
As A Welshman That Can't Sing, I Never Feel More Proud To Be Welsh Than When I Hear The Treorchy Male Choir - The Master Choir Of Them All. If I Could Sing I Would Apply For Membership Myself.
Males
Proud
Membership
I Visualized A Lot Of Things Happening To Me, Because I Was A Lonely Kid Because I Didn't Understand Anything About School.
Lonely
School
Kids
My Weak Spot Is That I Don't Like Analyzing So I Tend To Be A Bit Lazy; I Tend To Get Bored Quickly, Which Means I Must Be Boring.
Mean
Bored
Lazy
My Father Wasn't A Cruel Man. And I Loved Him. But He Was A Pretty Tough Character. His Own Father Was Even Tougher - One Of Those Victorians, Hard As Iron - But My Dad Was Tough Enough.
Dad
Father
Character
I've Got No Need To Prove To Myself That I Can Do Shakespeare. I've Done It.
Needs
Done
Prove
I Don't Know Why They Gave Me A Knighthood - Though It's Very Nice Of Them - But I Only Ever Use The Title In The U.s. The Americans Insist On It And Get Offended If I Don't.
Nice
Titles
Use
I Found A Way Into The Acting Business Because I Thought, Well, It Beats Working For A Living, And So That's What I Do. But I Still Feel Like A Bit Of A Stranger In It All. I've Never Really Belonged Anywhere.
Acting
Way
Stranger
Israel Means War And Destruction And We Americans Are Behind This War And I Am Ashamed Of Being American.
War
Mean
Israel
I Was Bullied As A Boy - Lots Of Kids Are, But Hopefully Most Of Us Get On With Our Lives And Grow Up.
Growing Up
Kids
Boys
I Love Roller Coasters. I Don't Get A Chance Often, But I've Gone To Magic Mountain And Gone On The Rides. I Love Roller Coasters.
Magic
Mountain
Gone
In The Theatre, People Talk. Talk, Talk Until The Cows Come Home About Journeys Of Discovery And About What Hazlitt Thought Of A Line Of Shakespeare. I Can't Stand It.
Home
Journey
Discovery
I Wanted To Be A Musician. I Just Wanted To Be Famous Because I Wanted To Escape From What I Felt Was My Limitation In Life... And I Wanted To Write Music, And I Didn’t Know What I Was Doing And I Never Had The Technique Or Understanding Of It... But I’ve Always Played The Piano And I Can Improvise On The Piano, But The Problem Is That I Can’t Write Down What I Write. I Can Read Music But I Can’t Write Numbers.
Writing
Play
Piano
By Giving Up 'the Need' And 'the Want', Things Begin To Happen For You
Giving Up
Needs
Want
I Always Had A Knack For Improvisation. I Can Write Down The Notes I Play, But Never Really Had A Proper Academic Musical Background. I Suppose I'm Blessed And Cursed By The Fact I Have That Freedom.
Blessed
Writing
Play
You Relax Within The Verse. You Realize The Structure Of The Verse And Relax Into It. It's Like Swimming. Or Riding A Bike. You Can't Make It Sound Real If You Are Thinking It Through As You Go. You Can't Think Through Shakespeare, You Have To Speak It. And Listen To The Rhythm Of It And Then It Takes You Over. And To Make It Sound Real You Speak As If You Believe It. Don't Act It. Just Be It.
Real
Believe
Swimming
I Love To Have A Laugh. I Like To Tease People.
People
Laughing
Tease
My Weak Spot Is Laziness. I Have A Lot Of Weak Spots - Cookies, Croissants; My Wife Is Always Lecturing Me About This, I Tend To Put It All Down As Habit Or It's Just Acting.
Wife
Acting
Weak Spots
I Don't Know What I Believe.
Believe
I Believe
Knows
You Have To Be Pretty Tough To Be An Actor, And You Have To Be Pretty Certain What You Want. You Can't Waffle Through This Business.
Actors
Waffles
Want
You Still Wake Up Sometimes. You Wake Up In The Dark And Hear The Screaming Of The Lambs.
Dark
Lambs
Wake Up
I Tried Acting, Liked It, And Stuck With It. I Saw It As The Way I Would Keep That Promise To Myself Of Getting Back At Those Who Had Made My School Life A Misery.
School
Promise
Acting
Trending Author
Rutherford B. Hayes
Eric Liddell
Corey Haim
Mary Landrieu
Henry Louis Gates
Julian Casablancas
Category
Information