Acting is half shame, half glory. Shame at exhibiting yourself, glory when you can forget yourself.

I never accept lengthy film roles nowadays, because I am always so afraid I will die in the middle of shooting and cause such awful problems.

It is very hard to cast a number of plays adequately from the same company of actors without several parts being miscast.

You can be good in a good movie, you can be good in a bad movie, you can be bad in a bad movie, but never, ever, be bad in a good movie.

I am all in favour of spontaneity, providing it is carefully planned and ruthlessly controlled.

When I first went to America in 1928, there were spittoons everywhere. I remember avoiding spit as it flew past me in Times Square. Very unattractive.

Ingrid Bergman speaks five languages and can’t act in any of them.