CHAZZ PALMINTERI

My father always said, 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.'

Yeah, I like to gamble.

I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the working man, the guy who's the cop, the fireman, the truck driver, the bus driver.

I never worried about becoming typecast. People have said that to me, but I never worried about it. As long as the part is three dimensional, I'm okay with it, whether the role is to play the heavy, the cop.

I always knew I was going to make it, without doubt.

Mental violence is as bad as physical violence. You don't see that very often in movies, so it was a good subject to tackle.

Italian-Americans are not the Mafia.

I've always been successful. Now I'm famous and successful.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.

My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.

I always knew I was going to make it, without doubt.

Italian-Americans are not the Mafia.

I came here knowing nobody. I worked clubs as a singer and even the doors a few times before I landed some TV roles.

My mother and father told me I was god. I was a good Italian boy who hung out with the same four guys. I was a little god.

Yeah, I like to gamble.

My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.

I've always been successful. Now I'm famous and successful.

I like playing roulette, I like dice. I grew up with gamblers.

I get the beginning. I get the end. Then I write the middle. That's how I do it.

Mental violence is as bad as physical violence. You don't see that very often in movies, so it was a good subject to tackle.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.

I love people who just started making movies - first-timers, second-timers. They take chances.

I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the working man, the guy who's the cop, the fireman, the truck driver, the bus driver.

Doing voiceover, they bring you in, you're wearing jeans, you haven't shaved, you're wearing a baseball cap, and you go in, do it, make a lot of money and go home. It's fun. I enjoy doing it very much. So that's been really fun for me.

Oh, great reviews are the worst. They mislead you more than the bad ones, because they only fuel your ego. Then you only want another one, like potato chips or something, and the best thing you get is fat and bloated. I'd rather just refuse, thanks.

The way I pick movies is, first, if the script is any good. Then, if the script is good, who else is in it, the director, the producer, all that. If you have all that, there's a chance the movie will be great. If the script isn't right, or the director or cast isn't right, you've got no shot in hell.

When you feel good about the work you're doing, that's what's important, not the budget or anything like that. If you're happy about the actors you're working with, that's what's important.

I thought that if no one was going to give me a great part - and it was very difficult to break into film, obviously - then I'd write one myself.

I had a 90-minute one-man show. I performed it and my life just exploded. Everything - my life just changed. Every writer, director, producer, studio head, movie star - they all wanted it. It was the hottest property since 'Rocky.'

Please, if you're making a movie, start out with a good script, at least! Please!

My father always said, 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.'

I never worried about becoming typecast. People have said that to me, but I never worried about it. As long as the part is three dimensional, I'm okay with it, whether the role is to play the heavy, the cop.

The key is you have to keep doing the right thing. Do the right thing and stay around long enough, and you'll keep getting parts. And if you don't, you write your own parts, which I'm lucky to do. It's like anything else: you get hot, you get cold, then you get hot again. You just keep working.