Gene Hackman

“I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.”

“The best advice I ever got was that knowledge is power and to keep reading.”

“Acting is a bit of a boy's game.”

“The difference between a hero and a coward is one step sideways.”

“The older I get, the more I look at movies as a moving miracle.”

“When you're on a film set, you're not in the real world. You're in a fantasy world.”

“If you're a character actor, you're always looking for a new way to play something.”

“Dysfunctional families are sacred to the West. We should be teaching our children to be good citizens, not to be wallowing in their own problems.”

“I'm drawn to flawed characters.”

“If I'd been a different person, I might have been better.”

“I give my soul to my work.”

“I don't think I have a 'style.' I think I have a 'way' of doing things.”

“You're only as good as your last picture.”

“I don't mind being an unlikeable character. I've played a lot of them.”