Some men just want to watch the world burn

I've always loved reprehensible people because they're so much more interesting to play on screen.

I am often asked which of my films has come closest to my own ideal of performance, and I always answer, 'Educating Rita.'

If you're a leading actor you don't work with another actor. You work with a lady.

In my opinion, everybody is getting older and older. We have a great deal of dementia because nobody grew old enough to get it.

Every magic trick consists of three parts, or acts. The first part is called the Pledge. The magician shows you something ordinary. The second act is called the Turn. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it into something extraordinary. But you wouldn't clap yet, because making something disappear isn't enough. You have to bring it back.

If you put someone on screen long enough, they become the hero.