I love being so tight on people in close-ups that the veins in their eyes look like the Mississippi River.

The champion's management says let's do this for real, for charity. Rocky says no but decides to be true to himself even though he's going to be berated by everyone. Just to compete, not to win.

Theater is like boxing - having the audience ringside. It's instant gratification. Or horrification.

Whenever I don't get injured, the film is a dud. I didn't bleed on 'Rhinestone.' I didn't bleed on 'Stop! Or My Mom will Shoot.'

Once in one's life, for one mortal moment, one must make a grab for immortality; if not, one has not lived.

I started out as an actor, but I forced myself to be a writer, even though I wasn't very good at it and had never written. I don't think I ever passed an English course in my life. My first eight to 10 scripts were pretty horrendous, but I stayed at it, stayed at it, and stayed at it, until I eventually found a voice and a subject like Rocky that people were interested in.

People think retiring is fun. Well, maybe, but if you have a certain kind of fire inside, there is no end in sight.