Work is life for me, it is the only point of life - and with it there is almost religious belief that service is everything.

Autograph-hunting is the most unattractive manifestation of sex-starved curiosity.

I often think that could we creep behind the actor's eyes, we would find an attic of forgotten toys and a copy of the Domesday Book.

What is the main problem of the actor? It is to keep the audience awake, and not let them go to sleep, then wake up and go home feeling they've wasted their money.

You think you're an artist; prove it

[May 1958, on playing Macbeth at age 30 and age 48] When you're a young man, Macbeth is a character part. When you're older, it's a straight part.

Life is enthusiasm, zest.