In England, I was a Cockney actor. In America, I was an actor.

If you're a movie actor, you're on your own - you cannot control the stage. The director controls it.

I heard my first laughter on stage, when I was about 10 years old. It was gold pantomime and I remember I was playing Baron Fitznoodle, who was the father of the ugly sisters in "Cinderella." And I walked on and got a great big laugh and I thought that was fantastic, until I looked down and found that my flies were open. And so I always check my flies. I even check my flies on radio.

There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.

Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser

You can write shorthand and still look at the guy you're talking to.

There is no point in competing with young talent...I just concentrate on getting better each day.