Only the gentle are ever really strong.
JAMES DEANOnly the gentle are ever really strong.
JAMES DEANI have a fairly adequate knowledge of Satanic forces.
JAMES DEANWhen an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn’t acting. It’s following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that.
JAMES DEANIf you’re not afraid, if you take everything you are, everything worthwhile in you and direct it at one goal, one ultimate mark, you’ve got to get there.
JAMES DEANMy fun days are over.
JAMES DEANTo grasp the full significance of life is the actor’s duty; to interpret it his problem; and to express it his dedication.
JAMES DEANAn hour or two of learning from the masters is usually enough to recharge my artistic batteries.
JAMES DEANAn actor must interpret life, and in order to do so must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer.
JAMES DEANWhatever’s inside making me what I am, it’s like film. Film only works in the dark. Tear it all open and let in the light and you kill it.
JAMES DEANIt was an accident, although I’ve been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child – in school, music, athletics.
JAMES DEANRacing is the only time I feel whole.
JAMES DEANBeing a good actor isn’t easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I’m done.
JAMES DEANBut you can’t show some far off idyllic conception of behavior if you want the kids to come and see the picture.
JAMES DEANBeing an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that’s all you have.
JAMES DEANHow can you measure acting in inches?
JAMES DEANWhen an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn’t acting. It’s following instructions.
JAMES DEAN