- "I'm not handsome in the classical sense. The eyes droop, the mouth is crooked, the teeth aren't straight, the voice sounds like a Mafioso pallbearer, but somehow it all works."
- "If you haven't turned rebel by twenty you've got no heart; if you haven't turned establishment by thirty you've got no brains!"
- "Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get."
- "I find it sad that by not talking about who I sleep with, that makes me mysterious. There was a time when I would have been called a gentleman."
- (on winning the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in American Beauty (1999)): "This has definitely been the highlight of my day."
- On American Beauty (1999): "I read the screenplay and nearly fell out of bed. I thought I better meet him quick before someone else read it".
- Discussing occasional misconceptions by women that he is gay: For them it's a challenge. They want to be the one to turn me around. I let them.
- My idea of credibility is primarily self-imposed and it all relates to the thing that I've been interested in as an actor and a director, which is what are you *willing* to live with as a human being? And there's things I'm just not willing to live with--and I won't. And if it means that I stop and find something else in life that interests me or challenges me, so be it.
- The less you know about me, the easier it is to convince you that I am that character on screen. It allows an audience to come into a movie theatre and believe I am that person.
- Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get.
- "Beyond the Sea (2004) is not a linear story at all. It's not what people will expect and it's not a biopic. It's my statement".
- "If you're lucky enough to do well, it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down." as quoted in Woman's World, 2-22-05 issue
- I was beginning to feel I just didn't want to go through another 10 years of living in hotels, making three or four movies a year. I long for the ritual of theater. I adore it. And I want to do plays that challenge me.
- The movies are not my first priority - the theater is.
- If you look at how most artistic beginnings have been greeted in this country [UK], I'm in very good company. I know I'm a bigger target as long as I'm seen as a Hollywood movie star instead of as an actor of the theater, even an artistic director. They don't accept that I come in to work here every day, and have done for the last two-and-a-half years, and will continue to do so.
- There is no prize, out there. The only prize is, this one, and what you feel and what you want to accomplish. And if you can, as you start out, these what could be lean years or could be fat years. I feel that I very often watch a lot of young people sort of meander around without any idea about why they're doing what they're doing. I mean to want and to be ambitious and to want to be successful, is not enough. That's just desire. To know what you want, to understand why you're doing it, to dedicate every breath in your body to achieve... If you feel you have something to give, if you feel that your particular talent is worth developing, is worth caring for then there's nothing you can't achieve.
- "As far as I'm concerned, when I looked at what happened in my career in 2000 - after American Beauty (1999) - I thought it couldn't get much better. What was I going to spend the rest of my life doing? Trying to top myself? Trying to stay hot, trying to make sure I was in the right movies? I don't give a s**t. I'm trying to do something with my success which is bigger than myself. I'm no longer interested in my personal career. I am interested in the impact I can have on a lot of other people's careers and on audiences".
- John Normington was a remarkable talent and all of us at the Old Vic are deeply saddened by his passing. We were fortunate to have John in the company of The Entertainer, where so many audiences had the chance to see his extraordinary performance as Archie Rice's father. John brought a wide range of experience to his characters throughout a diverse and successful career that touched the lives of all who worked with him. We were honored to have enjoyed John's company for as long as we had him. His spirit and influence remained throughout and now that same spirit joins the other great actors who have played the Old Vic stage, where he will always be remembered with admiration and affection. They don't make them like him anymore. We send our love and condolences to John's partner, family and friends.
- [As Artistic Director of London's Old Vic Theatre] I'm living my dream. I'm doing it the way I want to do it. I'm working with an extraordinary group of people at that theatre who are dedicated and who really have in so many ways helped us discover what our ethos is.
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Movie/TV title: The Usual Suspects
Movie/TV title: Seven
Movie/TV title: Seven
Movie/TV title: American Beauty
Movie/TV title: Superman Returns