The American cinema in general always made stories about working-class people; the British rarely did. Any person with my working-class background would be a villain or a comic cipher, usually badly played, and with a rotten accent. There weren't a lot of guys in England for me to look up to.

This is your life, Larry. Learn to enjoy what you've got.

I never look back at all. All of my sentiment and emotion goes into my family. I'm an extremely family oriented person and I have a very, very happy family life. That doesn't just include blood relations. I have friends who are close to me.

I learned about life before I went into the theater, which is why I've been so happy. I was a soldier.

Nobody did a campaign for me. I was nominated out of the blue and won out of the blue. So that was it.

My most useful acting tip came from my pal John Wayne. Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much.

I never listened to the people who said I should give it up, which is the main advice I got.