I'm always slightly envious of people who become extremely rich without anyone knowing who the hell they are, like financiers.

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

To me, growing old is great. It's the very best thing - considering the alternative.

I don't have to work, really, but I do enjoy working, and I do enjoy getting paid.

I was a repertory actor, which meant that I did a play every week. I was a different character every week; for a year, I was doing 40 or 50 characters.

By the time the Oscars are on I'll be seventy. How many more chances am I going to have to get nominated for an Oscar?

In my day, the drug was alcohol and the weapon was a fist, so it was very sort of innocent and primitive. Now you've got drugs, guns, and knives, which are so lethal.