A character to me can't be contrived. I don't like to contrive characters. They have to have an element of truth.

Every father was his own man. He did what he wanted. If your mother went shopping, your father never went with her.

I've never done anything half-heartedly; it's a disservice to me and the audience if I do it half-heartedly.

The average politician was crooked. That was my ambition, to be a crooked politician. I'd see them in these restaurants, and they'd all hold these conferences. I'd see politicians who were supposed to be on opposite sides of issues all together at one table.

I had very high respect for the Pratt Institute, but I thought that I had done my best, and that was not their version of the best.

There were very strict social conventions, and you adhered to it, and I think it gave you a lot of character. When a man said something, he meant it. He wasn't kidding around. There were no jokes involved. Nobody was in the mood to joke unless you hit a guy with a baseball bat.

You fought fair. If the other guy wants to fight and you knocked him out, you did your best for him. You didn't want to hurt him any more.