Harvey Fierstein Quotes

Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

I do believe we're all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.

The great thing about suicide is that it's not one of those things you have to do now or you lose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later.

Nothing binds a people to their leader like a common enemy. Voters don’t change governments during war.

Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate.

Anyone with a smart phone is a potential eyewitness cameraman capturing and transmitting stories at speeds that turn Reuter photos and traditional reporting into, well... yesterday’s news.

Time will tell us what we did and didn't do.

Change your mind as often as possible. Just because you thought something yesterday doesn't mean you have to think it today. Don't ever become a prisoner of your own opinion

I guess a drag queen's like an oil painting: You gotta stand back from it to get the full effect.

What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change.

I burned out on AIDS and did no AIDS work for a couple of years. I was so angry that people were still getting this disease that nobody can give you - you have to go out and get it!

If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life?

You may feel powerless as a child, but the world will one day be yours. And you're responsible for it. So, seize the day and take charge of it.

It's a wonderful world. You can't go backwards. You're always moving forward. It's the wonderful part about life. And that's terrific.

I am thrilled - I can't stress that enough - thrilled when I see kids getting active.

I actually pray everyday, but I don't believe in God.

Of course people are afraid. But honestly facing that fear, seeing it for what it is, is the only way of putting it to rest.

A child's kiss is magic. Why else would they be so stingy with them?

Never be bullied into silence.

Beware of anyone who says they know. Trust me, they don't, or they wouldn't have to say they did.

In Torch Song, I did that character almost non-stop from 1978 until I made the movie in 1987. Then I had some failure, which also colors how you react to doing other things.

Theater has to resonate in your heart in a way that movies don't.

I don't believe in the afterlife, so I do think when somebody passes, it's worthy of note.

Theater is my temple and my religion and my act of faith. Strangers sit in a room together and believe together.

So, did I work with Warhol? I worked with him less on that play then I did on other things. He actually did a portrait of my rabbit and some other stuff. Warhol was definitely... Warhol.

It would be nice to redefine ourselves - at the moment we are drowning in diversity. That's not a bad thing, its just going to take a while before we refocus.

Somebody should talk to Dan Quayle and tell him natural blondes don't have dark grey stripes on the sides.

Pork was in 1971, and I stopped hanging out at The Factory by like 1973.

Actually, I think the average voice is like 70 percent tone and 30 percent noise. My voice is 95 percent noise.

I just want to be loved, is that so wrong?!

To work all the time is to be incredibly lucky.

It's through sheer will that I can sing.

How time flies when you're doin all the talking.

And I believe that you never be limited in what you do, so I like to do movies, I like to do television.

How often are the perpetrators of hate-crimes discovered to be self-loathing? Valued individuals do not strike out against strangers.

Always admit when you're wrong. You'll save thousands in therapy... and a few friendships too.

I have great faith in the United States. It's the only country I would ever live in.

It's a lot of fun to play someone you don't normally think of yourself as.

As soon as I started writing, other writers stopped wanting me acting in their shows - maybe they thought I was going to rewrite them.

A musical takes two to five years. You have to love it to put in the years.

Also, if you want to reach people, theatre is not always the best way to do it.

I have the world's worst taste in men, so now I simply have wonderful relationships of the friend kind, but trying to settle down with somebody? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm beyond that.

I really am a theater person. That means you put something out there, and you let it go. Tomorrow night is a new performance.

In no way be bullied into silence. Hardly ever permit on your own to become made a sufferer. Acknowledge no one's definition of one's lifetime; define oneself

I actually may do a musical next year... not one that I've written; one that I may star in. Plus my concert and other people's work and all of a sudden you've got a very full life.

I just don't like politics. My rule is if I can put a spotlight on something, I'll do that.

I have to work really hard, eight shows a week, to get a nice check as an actor. But when I write a play, and it's a - knock wood - hit, the checks come in for many years.

Political movements always belong to the young.

The world is full of more interesting things than my voice.