Steve Guttenberg Quotes

Wanting to work is a luxury; having to work is not.

No matter how bad your life gets, you can always turn it around.

If I buy a luxury gift for someone I love, it's got to be perfect. The product has to be in perfect condition from the company. If I'm going to buy a luxury watch or luxury car or clothing for someone I love, it's got to be perfect, and they've got to handle it perfectly. They have to pack it perfectly. I want the people that I love to have that great experience, because you're paying so much, you should have it perfect.

My thoughts were to become a dentist when I first went to Albany State. I didn't know where I would end up, but I knew I'd be happy, and I knew I would have a nice life. That was always my goal, to have a nice, happy life. That's, to me, being rich.

I love the fame and the money and the power. You have to keep working to have that.

In Utah, there are no bad things in the water there. It's just smooth, really beautiful.

I'm not bragging but my movies have grossed well over a billion dollars.

I'm just thinking all the time. There are times when I don't really need to think. You know what I mean? If you think about stuff for five hours, you really only need to do like five minutes and the rest of sort of rehashing it and dramatically going over it.

From 1980 to 1990, I shot more films than any other actor in the Screen Actors Guild, apart from Gene Hackman.

I'm lucky to be in this business. I'm very grateful.

When you're starting out as an actor, there isn't much food around. I was lucky to have a hit pretty early on. I didn't starve too long.

Show business has never been my everything. It's a means; it's not the end. It's a means to the end. I want and have always wanted freedom. That was always my goal, to not have a boss, to not have anybody tell me what to do. Luckily, as an actor, I got that.

I don't believe in having to show anybody anything. I just do my work. You know, making a living as an actor is such a rarity on earth. It's like making a living as a painter. So I look at different opportunities in the same way as Jack Nicholson, who said once, "Keep popping up in different holes. That's what you want to do: Just keep popping up in different holes." That made a lot of sense to me.

Making art is an act of courage. Do you know who said that?

When people are nasty, it gets everybody's attention, and it gives them a name.

Wanting to work is a luxury; having to work is not. If you're an artist, an actor, and you don't have to work, then you do work that you wanna do.

Typecasting is a good thing. It's good to be known for what you do.

It's important for everybody to have somewhere to go. Men and women need purpose [in life].

A gay man can be friends with a straight man. That can happen.

Someone's just told me the English are still trying to take over the United States - is that true?

I'm somebody who's really contributed to culture. Popular culture.

Let's look at people as artists and try to support them; just because Picasso painted a couple of bad paintings, that's no reason to say he's a lousy painter.

When you have nothing to lose, the sky's the limit.

I've always been proud of my character and how I live my life. So my regrets are few, and the ones I do have, I'm glad I have.

Any kind of writing that's meaningful becomes hard work, so there were times when it would really flow, there were times when I'd get 10 pages a day, and then there were days when I would do three pages. Depends on the thickness of the material. If it's satisfying, it's hard, but it's pretty wonderful.

The worst professional advice I've received. "If you were the last person on earth, I would never choose you to be a movie star."

You're never really playing yourself. You're always acting. It's an illusion that you're really playing yourself. The only time I'm playing myself is when I'm at home!

You never know who's going to become your friend. Friends are always chance meetings.

I've only had good experiences with actors. Starring next to them and directing them, for the most part they're all inspiring, special people.

Every film can be fun, even if it's a terror.

Unless you're Jack Lemmon or Cary Grant, there are few guys who can do comedy and drama.

Directing is a tremendous art.

If you put down a list of jobs, doctor, lawyer, janitor, teacher or movie star, everybody would pick the movie star. And why? So you could lie around the pool, drink margaritas and send money to your parents. So that's what I did.

There's tons of waste on every film. It really doesn't matter the budget, as long as it hits a bull's-eye.

Sometimes it's good to miss a bus. It might be the wrong bus.

If you're buying something from Chanel, you want it perfect, and delivered on time.

For 15 years I did two to three movies a year, sometimes four. I didn't get to spend time building my personal life.

I've made a lot of people a lot of money, and I've made a lot of people really happy. I've entertained millions and millions of people.

It's all about commerce. Movies are not made like paintings, where you can make them for free and put them at the side. Movies are supposed to make money.

I'm somebody who deserves to be supported and encouraged to continue my work because I have a lot to give.

If you're an underdog, mentally disabled, physically disabled, if you don't fit in, if you're not as pretty as the others, you can still be a hero.

If I could spend the rest of my life inside one movie it would be The Godfather, because it's the greatest movie ever made.

Underneath all the skin, we're all the same.

I'm not going to say, I'm an actor and I'm changing the world. Who cares?

You can tell when you're in a hit.

The allure of Hollywood is huge when you don't know anything. You don't know the knives behind the smiles.

What life really is all about is happiness. It's not money, or stature, or the amount of cars you have in your driveway. Life, a really successful life, is one in which you are loved and love somebody else, or some other people.

There are 100,000 actors in the Screen Actors Guild. Only 2,000 of them make more than $75,000 a year.