John Hurt Quotes
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My mother's father drank and her mother was an unhappy, neurotic woman, and I think she has lived all her life afraid of anyone who drinks for fear something like that might happen to her.
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Picasso was hugely innovative, and, wow, did he have facility, amazing ability, but I don't think he painted a masterpiece.
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I mark a script like an exam, and I try not to do anything under 50 per cent. Similarly with the part. And also film is a peculiar thing, parts don't necessarily read in script form anything like as well as they can do when it comes to materialising.
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The most difficult thing about painting is the self-discipline. When I finish a job, I give myself a few days, but then I have to discipline myself quite fiercely if I want to do some painting that's worthwhile. Otherwise, you're just doodling. It's much easier when you're just told what you have to do.
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I don't know whether I inspire anything in anyone.
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I never had any ambition to be a star, or whatever it is called, and I'm still embarrassed at the word.
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Everything that came to me, in terms of the ritzier side of performing, was a plus.
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Really, I'm only alive out of curiosity. I'm very curious about where we're all marching.
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If you do an interview in 1960, something it's bound to change by the year 2000. And if it doesn't, then there's something drastically wrong.
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I'm very much of the opinion that to work is better than not to work.
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I like the physical activity of gardening. It's kind of thrilling. I do a lot of weeding.
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Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the essence of the whole business of acting.
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Society is constantly recalibrating, redefining what it considers to be moral and immoral.
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I seem to watch less and less television. The best thing in 'Downton Abbey' is Penelope Wilton. She is always worth the watch.
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I see myself as an interpretative actor rather than a creative one.
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My criteria when looking for a role is that I will do anything that stands the chance of succeeding on the level it is intended to. After that, if it's a part I can do something personal with.
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I first got involved with Mel Brooks through 'The Elephant Man.' Everybody knows now, but they didn't know at the time that he was the producer.
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The English National Opera does have some terrific productions, which are accessible, and they're not too ridiculously expensive.
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If I'm in theatre, cinema doesn't even cross my mind. Similarly when I'm making a film, theatre doesn't cross my mind.
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I'm not interested in awards. I never have been. I don't think they are important. Don't get me wrong, if somebody gives me a prize, I thank them as gratefully as I know how, because it's very nice to be given a prize. But I don't think that awards ought to be sought.
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I didn't want to teach. I wanted to act. It was quite a long and difficult road to get there but very thrilling when I did.
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We are all racing towards death. No matter how many great, intellectual conclusions we draw during our lives, we know they're all only man-made, like God. I begin to wonder where it all leads. What can you do, except do what you can do as best you know how.
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The first thing you have to get used to in any kind of acting is the ability to make a fool of yourself. If you haven't learnt how to make a fool of yourself, you shouldn't be on the boards. That's absolutely what it's all about.
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I don't think you automatically become an enlightened person because you are a daddy. But they will change you, of course - their understanding of you puts you in a different place.