“I’ve spent most of my mature life trying to prove that I’m not irresponsible.”

The ideal American type is perfectly expressed by the Protestant, individualist, anti-conformist, and this is the type that is in the process of disappearing. In reality there are few left.

Criminals are never very amusing. It’s because they’re failures. Those who make real money aren’t counted as criminals. This is a class distinction, not an ethical problem.

A good artist should be isolated. If he isn’t isolated, something is wrong.

The cinema has no boundary; it is a ribbon of dream.

The trouble with a movie is that it’s old before it’s released. It’s no accident that it comes in a can.

I hate Woody Allen physically, I dislike that kind of man.

Human nature is eternal; therefore one who follows his nature keeps his original nature, in the end.

Working is part of life, I don’t know how to distinguish between the two. Work is an expression of life.

There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror.

Ignorance sheer ignorance. There is no confidence to equal it. It’s only when you know something about a profession that you are timid or careful.

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.

I’m never certain of a performance – my own or the other actors’ – or the script or anything. But to me it seems there’s only one place in the world the camera can be, and the decision usually comes immediately.

Future shock is a sickness which comes from too much change in too short a time. It’s the feeling that nothing is permanent anymore.

The Godfather’ was the glorification of a bunch of bums who never existed.

If I ever own a restaurant, I will never allow the waiters to ask if the diners like their dishes. Particularly when they’re talking.

My kind of director is an actor-director who writes.

In martial arts, the biggest enemy is self. Inside you struggle because you want to prove something.

No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate, they know that this is the place that we were born and raised.

It isn’t enough to love; we must prove it.

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.

I believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right

I’ve always come back from adversity, and I’ve always had the mentality of proving people wrong.

Perfect love means putting up with other peoples shortcomings, feeling no surprise at their weaknesses, finding encouragement even in the slightest evidence of good qualities in them.

One cannot explain words without making incursions into the sciences themselves, as is evident from dictionaries; and, conversely, one cannot present a science without at the same time defining its terms.