“I was very much into buying contemporary art, but I’ve just decided I want to get rid of it all. Not that it’s not great art, but all of a sudden my mood has changed, and I want to go back to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century masters.”

That’s what Rocky is all about: pride, reputation, and not being another bum in the neighborhood.

People think retiring is fun. Well, maybe, but if you have a certain kind of fire inside, there is no end in sight.

I think there comes a time when you realize that you need God in your life, God’s Word, and the spiritual guidance that only He can give.

When life hits you pretty hard, you can go into a dark corner.

I really am a manifestation of my own fantasy.

I’m a patriot of the heart.

Every time I’ve failed, people had me out for the count, but I always come back.

Movies are a whole different ball-game, now. It’s much more of a business – very scientific.

Voices are like fingerprints, from Cagney to Bogart. They never lost it. My voice is instrumental in categorizing me.

Don’t discuss your dreams. Pursue them!

I have a fear of heights that borders on mania.

Theater is like boxing – having the audience ringside. It’s instant gratification. Or horrification.

Characters I’ve played, they used to impact my paintings, like 80 percent of the time, and especially when I was doing an action film.

The older I get the more things I gotta leave behind.

Clothing is the first step to building a character.

I wanted to show I had balls at age 60. Just because society says I’m old, doesn’t mean that I am. I’m pursuing happiness, even if it makes the people around me unhappy.