[on whether he harbored any resentment at his forced retirement from the stage after he was fired by Britain's National Theater] I should be soaring away with my head tilted slightly toward the gods, feeding on the caviar of Shakespeare... An actor must act.

Have a very good reason for everything you do.

My stage successes have provided me with the greatest moments outside myself, my film successes the best moments, professionally, within myself.

If he was lost for a moment, he would dive straight back into its honey.

Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. You'll be afraid you can't achieve it. It's your excuse to yourself for not doing anything. Instead, strive for excellence, doing your best.

Lead the audience by the nose to the thought.

I believe in the theater; I believe in it as the first glamorizer of thought. It restores dramatic dynamics and their relations to life size.