Olivier Quotes

Acting, is not a profession for adults.

I think fashion is fashion: Sometimes you dress people that you don't know, and sometimes you dress people that you actually know.

I wish there were more young people in the big houses, but sometimes it's really hard for them to believe in the youth because they go for what's the most expected.

Without acting, I cannot breathe.

I often think that could we creep behind the actor's eyes, we would find an attic of forgotten toys and a copy of the Domesday Book.

[May 1958, on playing Macbeth at age 30 and age 48] When you're a young man, Macbeth is a character part. When you're older, it's a straight part.

There is a spirit in us that makes our brass to blare and our cymbals crash-all, of course, supported by the practicalities of trained lung power, throat, heart, guts.

We used to have actresses trying to become stars; now we have stars trying to become actresses.

If he was lost for a moment, he would dive straight back into its honey.

It's like all the signs were telling me that I shouldn't be a boxer, so I quit.

If you compare me to an actor, I'm probably one of the best boxers in the profession. But if you compare me as a boxer, I'm probably one of the best actors.

I see my friends, my family, my cousins work all day long for very little money, and if I have this problem of not being able to wall on the streets, it's not a big deal.

Imagination creates some big monsters.

If you want to be happy, live discreetly. Does that make sense in English?

Also, I have found that I really like to work in English. It's very strange because it's exactly the opposite of what I thought it would be like.

I really believe great actors, even with disease and age, can be great.

My father was champion of North Africa and he beat the European champ. He was very good, a professional for 12 years. We're from a big family of boxers. My father has seven brothers.

I wanted to become a champ - I was surrounded by champs in my family and in my neighborhood - and because of this stupid accident, I lost my opportunity.

It's nice to have some distance with your family. As long as you're closer to them by love.

When you're a foreigner, at the beginning you are far away from the culture. Then, little by little, you start to interact with people, have friends, have a life, and then you feel more comfortable.

I am interested in the idea of 'taste.' And by 'taste,' I mean opinion, inspiration and the craft of creating a personality through fabric and design.

Work is life for me, it is the only point of life - and with it there is almost religious belief that service is everything.

If you're an artist, you've got to prove it.

You think you're an artist; prove it

I believe in the theater; I believe in it as the first glamorizer of thought. It restores dramatic dynamics and their relations to life size.

My stage successes have provided me with the greatest moments outside myself, my film successes the best moments, professionally, within myself.

I like Paris. My problem is I don't like Parisians.

Knitted fur is so modern and light, it makes this retro shape cool again.

For me, the Internet is the opposite of memory; the Internet is amnesia, it's about today and tomorrow is another day. Printed issues are about recording time, leaving a trace and making it relevant.

Being efficient is the easy part. Suppressing one's ego completely for hours at a time is really hard.

The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence.

With couture, you feel obligated to design something modern each season, but with Theyskens Theory, I don't question anything. I'm thinking of what I'd like to wear.

Love is based on imagination.

I am far from sure when I am acting and when I am not or, should I more frankly put it, when I am lying and when I am not. For what is acting but lying and what is good acting but convincing lying?

Scratch an actor and you'll find an actor.

I have to act to live.

For every person is a gaping space waiting to be filled with God.

I don't like the actors to work together beforehand. I trust my intuition, and I like when the actors are the same.

The difficulty with telling stories about real people is you have to find a way of mixing yourself into the matter.

I don't want to dig in the truth all of the time. Let me dream.

Everybody has some talents - we all have an art side and some talent - but you have some areas where you are better than others. My area is acting, I guess. I hope.

Who knows what happens tomorrow? We'll find it tomorrow.

It’s a matter of time; you adapt to the different culture and different way of life. Human beings are adaptable.

I don't feel restricted by the language: I feel more free.

I want just to be happy and peaceful. And that's not always the case when you're married.

I never analyze why I was with one woman instead of another.

I always say I was born too late in the world, too old.

People sometimes recognize me here, but they are very nice.

The first time Adrian saw me was on tape. But you should know that this never works - never in the history of movies has someone been cast from a video.

I was born and raised in a suburb of Paris by a working-class family.